CALlFOt» 
SAN  0(64 


UNlvFRbily   o»    (.AiKOHNi*    ^a^^ 


3  1822  02399  1755 


€pocl)G  of  '^buir!)   hiGtorp 

rnoFi'3SOR  mam)i:ll  li:i;i(jhtu.\. 


THE  ENGUSU  CHURCH    IX  Tin:  .MIDDLE 
AGES. 


EPOCHS    OF    CHURCH    HISTORY. 

Lulled  by  Professor  Mandlll  Cki:il,uton. 
Fcp.  8vo,  price  80  cents,  each. 


THE   ENP.USH    CHURCH    IN   OTHER    LANnS.     Pv 
Rev.  H.  W.  Ti  CKEK. 

THE   HISTORY   OF  THE    REFORMATION   IN  ENG- 
LAND.    By  Rev  George  G.  Pekrv. 

THE  EVANGELICAL  REVIVAL  in  the  EIGHTEENTH 
CENTURY.     By  the  Ktv.  J.  H.  Ovekto.n. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  OXFORD. 
By  the  Hon.  G.  C.  Bkodrick. 

THE    HISTORY    OF    THE    UNIVERSITY    OF    CAM- 
BRIDGE.    By  J.  Bass  Mii.linger,  M.A. 

THE  CHURCH  OF  THE   EARLY  FATHERS.      By  A. 
Plum.mek,  D.D. 

THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE.    By  the 
Rev.  A.  Cakk. 

THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  PURITANS,  1570-1660.     By 
H.  Ofkley  Wakeman,  M.A. 

THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  EASTERN   EMPIRE.      By 
the  Rev.  H.  F.  TozEK. 

HILDEBRAND  AND  HIS  TIMES.     By  the  Rev.  W.  R. 
W.  Stei'Hens. 

THE  ENGLISH  CHURCH   IN  THE   MIDDLE  AGES. 
By  Rev.  W.  Hint,  M.A. 

THEARIAN  CONTROVERSY.    By  II.  M.Gwatkin,  M..\. 

THE  COUNTER-REFORMATION.     By  A.  W.  Waku. 


in;  i;x(.i,isii  rnnicii 


IN   TIIK 


MIDDLE   AGES. 


^^1I.L1A.M   HUNT. 


NEW  YORK: 
ANSON  D  I.  RANDOI  rn  \-  rOMIWNV. 

38    WtJJT   TWENTY-THIRD   STREET. 


i'KKr  ACE. 


Tins  book  is  intcnJcil  to  illustrato  the  relations  of  the 
English  Church  with  the  papacy  and  witli  tlic  English 
State  down  to  the  revolt  of  Wyclif  against  the  abuses 
which  had  gathered  round  the  ecclesiastical  system  of 
the  Ikliddle  Agt^s,  and  the  Great  Schism  in  the  papacy 
which  materially  oflccted  the  ideas  of  the  whole  of 
Western  Christendom.  It  was  thought  expedient  to 
deal  with  these  subjects  in  a  narrative  form,  and  some 
gaps  have  therefore  had  to  be  filled  iij),  and  some 
links  supplied.  This  has  Ix^en  done  as  far  as  possible 
by  notices  of  mutters  which  bear  on  the  moral  condi- 
tion of  the  Church,  and  ser>'e  to  show  how  far  it  was 
qualiGed  at  various  poriotls  to  be  the  example  and 
instnictor  of  the  nation.  No  attempt,  however,  has 
Ix'en  made  to  write  a  complete  history  on  a  small 
scale,  and  I  have  designedly  passed  by  many  points, 
in  themselves  of  interest  and  importance,  in  ortler  to 
give  as  much  space  as  might  be  to  my  proper  subjects. 


vi  Preface. 

Besides,  this  volume  has  been  written  as  one  of  a 
series  in  which  the  missions  to  the  Teutonic  peoples, 
the  various  aspects  of  Monasticism,  the  question  of 
Investitures,  and  the  place  which  the  University  of 
Oxford  fills  in  our  Church's  history  have  been,  or  will 
be,  treated  separately.  Accordingly  I  have  not  touched 
on  any  of  these  things  further  than  seemed  absolutely 
necessary. 

I  wish  that,  limited  as  niy  task  has  been,  I  could 
believe  that  it  has  been  adequately  performed.  No 
one  can  understand  the  character,  or  appreciate  the 
claims,  of  the  English  Church  who  has  not  studied  its 
history  from  the  beginning,  and  it  is  hoped  that  this 
little  book  may  do  something,  however  small,  towards 
spreading  a  correct  idea  of  the  part  that  the  Church 
has  borne  in  the  progress  of  the  nation,  and  of  the 
grounds  on  which  its  members  maintain  that  it  has 
from  the  first  been  a  National  Church,  as  regards  its 
inherent  life  and  independent  attitude  as  well  as  its 
intimate  and  peculiar  relations  with  the  State.  A 
firm  grasp  of  the  position  it  held  durint^'  the  IMiddle 
Ages  is  necessary  to  a  right  understanding  of  the 
final  rupture  with  Homo  accomplished  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  and  will  afford  a  complete"  safeguard 
against  the  vulgar  error  of  regarding  the  Church  as  a 


Preface.  vii 

creation  of  the  State,  an  institution  established  by  the 
civil  jx»\ver,  and  inaintaiufd  by  its  bounty.  Those 
who  are  aajuainted  with  our  niediiuval  chroniclers 
will  see  that  I  have  written  from  original  sources.  I 
have  also  freely  availed  myself  of  the  labours  of  others, 
and,  above  all,  of  the  works  of  Bishop  Stubbs,  which 
have  been  of  the  greatest  assistance  to  uil-. 


KKRATUM. 
Top  lino  of  payo  147,  for  'ings"  read  "  ofTorings/' 


CONTKNTS, 


ritfK\rE 

LiMt   <>K   THE  AnCliniSIIOrs  op   CAXTKniH  l.v    \m.   DIJ     r.r-nci  - 

AM)  Archbishops  or  YoHK  TO  1377    .        . 


(;ji.\rTi;i:  i. 

RoMi:    AND    lo.NA. 

St.  AufjMHtin'B  Mi-»i..n— PoiK?  Gro;,'or3'9  Schcmo  of  Orgnniza- 
tion— Caunwi  of  itt  Failure— Foundation  and  Overthrow  of 
the  Sco  of  York — Independent  Misitions — Tlio  See  of  Lin- 
dijifarne— Scottish  Christianity — The  Schism — The  SvikkI 
of  Whitby— Restoration  of  the  See  of  York 


CriAPTKR  II. 

OnoAxiZATioy. 

Arvhhiahop  Theodore— Hiii  Work  In  Organiratinn— New  Dio- 
c«c»— Wilfrith'i  Appealu  t..  Rome— Literary  Grt-atntM  «f 
Northumbrift  — Pariihen- Tithea— The  Church  in  Wt-nncx  — 
A  Thinl  Archbishopric -The  Church  in  Relation  to  the 
State— to  Rome— to  We»ten«  Christendom 


X  Contents. 

CHAPTEK  III. 

Ruin  and  Eevival. 

PAGE 

Ruin  of  Northumbria— ^thelwulf  s  Pilgrimage— Danish  Inva- 
sions of  Southern  England ;  the  Peace  of  Wedmore — 
Alfred's  Work — Character  of  the  Church  in  the  Tenth 
Century  —  Reorganization  —  Revival  —  Oda  —  Dunstan  — 
Seculars  and  Regulars — Dunstan's  Ecclesiastical  Adminis- 
tration— Coronations — Dunstan's  Last  Days — ^Elfric  the 
Grammarian 34 

CHAPTEE  IV. 

Exhaustion. 

Characteristics  of  the  Period — Renewed  Scandinavian  Invasions 
—  Legislation  —  Archbishop  J^^lfheah  :  his  Martyrdom  — 
End  of  the  Danish  War— Cnut  and  the  Church— The  King's 
Clerks  —  Spiritual  Decadence  —  Foreigners  appointed  to 
English  Sees— Effect  of  these  Appointments— Party  Strug- 
gles— Earl  Harold — Pilgrimages — A  Legatine  Visit — A 
Schismatical  Archbishop— The  Papacy  and  the  Conquest — 
Summary  :  The  National  Character  of  the  Church  before 
the  Norman  Conquest 55 


CHAPTEE  V. 

Royal  Supremacy. 

The  Conqueror  and  Lanfranc — Canterbury  and  York — Sepa- 
rate Ecclesiastical  System — Removal  of  Sees — Extent  and 
Limits  of  Papal  Influence — The  Conqueror's  Bishops — 
Change  in  the  Character  of  the  Church — An  Appeal  to 
Rome — Feudal  Tendencies — St.  Anselm — Struggle  against 
Tyranny — Investitures  —  Henry  I.  — Councils  —  Legates — 
Independence  of  the  See  of  York — Summary     .         .         .         ^7 


Contents.  xi 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Clerical  Puetensions. 

PAGE 

Stephen  and  the  English  Church — Archbishop  Theobald  and 
Henry  of  Winchester  —  Thomas  the  Chancellor  —  The 
Scutage  of  Toulouse— Thomas  the  Archbishop— Clerical 
Immunity— The  Archbishop  in  Exile— His  Martyrdom — 
Henry's  General  Relations  to  the  Church — Conquest  of 
Ireland  —  llichard's  Crusade  —  Longchamp  —  Archbishop 
Hubert  Walter— Character  of  the  Clergy   ....       105 


CHAPTER  YII. 

Vassalage. 

The  Alliance  bctwern  the  Church  and  the  Crown — Coronation 
of  John  — Quarrel  between  John  and  the  Pope — The  Inter- 
dict— Vassalage  of  England — The  Great  Charter — Papal 
Tutelage  of  Henry  III. — Taxation  of  Spiritualities — Papal 
Oppression — Edmund  Rich,  Archbishop — Robert  Grosse- 
teste,  Bishop  of  Lincoln — Alienation  from  Rome — Civil  War 
—Increase  of  Clerical  Pretensions — The  Canon  Law  . 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Church  and  the  Xatiox. 

Character  of  the  Reign  of  Edward  I. — Archbishop  Peckham — 
Statute  of  Mortmain — Conquest  of  Wales — Circumspecte 
Agatis — Expulsion  of  the  Jews — Clerical  Taxation  and 
Representation  in  Parliament— Breach  between  the  Crown 
and  the  Papacy — Contirmation  of  the  Charters — Arch- 
bishop Winchelsey  and  the  Rights  of  the  Crown — The 
English  Parliament  and  Papal  Exactions — Church  and 
State  during  the  Reign  of  Edward  II.— Papal  Provisions 
to  Bishoprics — The  Bishops  and  Secular  Politics — The  Pro- 
vince of  York — Parliament  and  Convocation      .         .         .       i6l 


xii  Contents. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Papacy  and  the  Parliament. 

Ecclesiastical  Character  of  the  Reign  of  Edward  III. — Arch- 
bishops and  their  Ecclesiastical  Administration — Provisions 
— Statute  of  Provisors — Statute  of  Praemunire — Refusal  of 
Tribute — Relations  between  the  Church  and  the  State — 
Causes  of  Discontent  at  the  Condition  of  the  Church — 
Attack  on  Clerical  Ministers  and  the  Wealthy  Clergy — 
Concordat  with  the  Papacy — The  Good  Parliament — Con- 
clusion        ........,, 

INDEX 


192 


219 


AECHBISHOPS  OF  CANTEEBURY 

TO     1377. 


Accession. 

Death. 

Augustin       ..... 

597 

604 

Laurentius 

604 

619 

Mullitus 

619 

624 

Justus  . 

624 

627 

Houoiius 

627 

653 

Deusdedit 

65s 

664 

Theodore 

668 

690 

Brihtwald     . 

693 

731 

Tat  win . 

731 

734 

Notlielm 

735 

739 

Cuthbeiht     . 

740 

758 

Ere  eg  win 

759 

765 

Jaenberht     . 

766 

791 

il'lthelheard  . 

793 

805 

Wulfred 

805 

832 

Feologeld 

832 

832 

Ceolnoth 

833 

870 

^thelred      . 

870 

889 

Plegmund     . 

890 

914 

Athelin 

914 

923 

Wulfhelm 

923 

942 

Oda       . 

942 

959 

Dunstan 

960 

9SS 

iEtlielgar 

9SS 

9S9 

Sigeric  . 

990 

994 

^^Ifric  . 

995 

1005 

/Elfheah 

1005 

1012 

L.vfing  . 

1013 

1020 

^thelnoth 

1020 

103S 

Eadsige 

103S 

1050 

Robert  . 

1051 

1070 

Stigand 

1052 

Lan  franc 

1070 

10S9 

Ansrlni . 

1093 

1 1 09 

Kalpii    . 

1114 

1122 

William  of  Coi-beuil 

1 123 

1136 

Tiieobald 

1 139 

1161 

Thomas  [Becket]  . 

1162 

1 1 70 

Archbishops  of  Canterbury. 


Accession. 

Death. 

Richard 

"74 

II84 

Baldwin 

1185 

1 190 

Hubert  Walter       . 

1193 

1205 

Stephen  Langton  . 

1207 

1228 

Richard  Grant 

1229 

I231 

Edmund  Rich 

1234 

1240 

Boniface 

1245 

1270 

Robert  Kilwardby 

1273 

res.  1278 

John  Peckham 

1279 

1292 

Robert  Winchelsey 

1294 

1313 

Walter  Reynolds  . 

1313 

1327 

Simon  Mepeham   . 

1328 

1333 

John  Stratford 

^333 

1348 

Thomas  Bradwardine 

1349 

1349 

Simon  Islip    . 

1349 

1366 

Simon  Langham    . 

1366 

res.  1368 

William  Whittlesey 

1368 

1374 

Simon  Sudbury     . 

1375 

1381 

BISHOPS  AND  ARCHBISHOPS  OF  YOEK 

TO     1377. 


Accession. 

Death. 

Paulinus        ..... 

625 

Wilfrith 

664 

709 

Ceadda . 

664 

res.  669 

Bosa 

678 

705 

John  of  Beverley 

705 

res.  718 

Wilfrith  II.  . 

718 

732 

Ecgberht 

732 

766 

..^thelberht  (Albe 

"t) 

766 

780 

Eanbald 

780 

796 

Eanbald  II.  . 

796 

S12? 

Wulfsige 

831? 

Wigmund 

837 

Wulfhere 

854 

900 

^thelbald     . 

900 

Redewald 

cir.  928 

Wulfstau       . 

cir.  931 

956 

B /SHOPS   AND    ArCHDISHOPS    OF    YORK. 


Accession. 

Death. 

Oskytcl 

95S 

971 

Oswald  . 

972 

992 

Ealdiilf. 

992 

1002 

Wulfstan  II. 

IC03 

1023 

/Elfric  . 

1023 

105 1 

Kinesige 

105 1 

1060 

ICaklrea 

1060 

1 069 

Thomas 

1070 

1 100 

tJeiard  . 

IIOI 

1 108 

TliDinas  II.    . 

1 109 

III4 

Thurstan 

1119 

1 140 

William 

1143 

I '54 

Henry  Murdac 

1147 

1 1 53 

Roger    . 

1154 

1 181 

Geoffrey 

1191 

1212 

Walter  Gray 

1215 

1255 

Sewal  de  Buvill 

1256 

1258 

Godfrey 

1258 

1265 

Walter  Giffard 

1266 

1279 

^\'illiaIn  Wickwair 

I 

1279 

1285 

John  le  Roman 

12S6 

1296 

Henry  Newark 

1298 

1299 

Thomas  Corbridge 

1300 

1303 

William  Greenfield 

1306 

I3'5 

William  jNIeltou     . 

1317 

1340 

William  Zouche     . 

1342 

1352 

John  Thoresby 

1352 

1373 

Alexander  Neville 

1374 

1392 

THE  ENGLISH  CHURCH 
IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ROME    AND    lONA. 

ST.  augustin's  mission— pope  Gregory's  scheme  of  orgax- 

IZATION — CAUSES  OF  ITS  FAILURE — FOUNDATION  AND  OVER- 
TUROW  OF  THE  SEE  OF  YORK — INDEPENDENT  MISSIONS — 
THE  SEE  OF  LINDISFARNE — SCOTTISH  CHRISTIANITY — THE 
SCHISM — THE  SYNOD  OF  WHITBY — RESTORATION  OF  THE  SEE 
OF  YORK. 

The  Gospel  was  first  brouglit  to  the  Teutonic  con- 
querors of  Britain  by  Roman  missionaries,  and  was 
received  by  the  kings  of  various  kingdoms.  From  the 
first  the  Church  that  was  planted  here  was  national 
in  character,  and  formed  a  basis  for  national  union ; 
and  when  that  union  was  accomplished  the  English 
State  became  coextensive  with  the  English  Church, 
and  was  closely  united  with  it.  The  main  object  of 
this  book  is  to  trace  the  relations  of  the  Church  both 
with  the  Papacy  and  with  the  State  down  to  the  new 
era  that  opened  with  the  schism  in  the  Papacy  and 
the  "Wyclifite  movement.  Our  narrative  will  begin 
with    the    coming    of  Augustin    and   his   companions 

C.  H.  A 


2     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

in  597  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  English  people. 
St.  Augustin's  They  landed  in  the  Isle  of  Thanet.     The 

laiidiug  at  Ebbs- 
fleet,  597.  way   had,  to    some    extent,   been    prepared 

for  them,  for  ^thelberht,  king  of  Kent,  whose  supe- 
riority was  acknowledged  as  far  north  as  the  Humber, 
had  married  a  Christian  princess  named  Bertha,  the 
daughter  of  a  Frankish  king,  and  had  allowed  her 
to  bring  a  priest  with  her  and  to  practise  her  own 
religion.  He  had  not,  however,  learnt  much  about 
Christianity  from  his  queen  or  her  priest.  Neverthe- 
less, he  received  the  Gospel  from  Augustin,  and  was 
baptized  with  many  of  his  people.  By  Gregory's  com- 
mand, Augustin  was  consecrated  "  archbishop  of  the 
English  nation  "  by  the  archbishop  of  Aries,  ^thel- 
berht  gave  him  his  royal  city  of  Canterbury,  and  built 
for  him  there  the  monastery  of  Christ  Church,  the 
mother-church  of  our  country. 

Gregory  organized  the  new  Church,  in  the  full 
belief  that  it  would  extend  over  the  whole  island. 
Greo-ory's  Ho  seut  Augustiu  the  "  pall,"  a  vestment 
orgauization,  denoting  metropolitan  authority,  and  con- 
^^^'  stituting  the  recipient  vicar  of  the   Pope. 

Two  metropolitan  sees  were  to  be  established — the 
one  at  London,  the  residence  of  the  East  Saxon  King 
Sasberct,  who  reigned  as  sub-king  under  ^thelberht, 
a  crowded  mart,  and  the  centre  of  a  system  of  roads  ; 
the  other  at  York,  the  capital  of  the  old  Roman  pro- 
vince north  of  the  Humber.  Both  archbishops  were 
to  receive  the  pall,  and  to  be  of  equal  authority.  At 
the  same  time,  the  unity  of  the  Church  was  ensured, 
for  they  were  to  consult  together  and  act  in  unison. 
Both   the   provinces  were  to  be  divided   into   twelve 


Rome  and  Ion  a.  3 

suffragan  bishoprics,  and  as  the  northern  province  took 
in  the  country  now  called  Scotland,  they  were  of  fairly 
equal  size.  This  arrangement  was  not  to  be  carried 
out  until  after  Augustin's  death.  As  long  as  he 
lived  all  the  bishops  alike  were  to  obey  him,  and  ho 
was,  we  may  suppose,  to  continue  to  reside  at  Canter- 
bury. Moreover,  the  clergy  of  the  Welsh  or  Britons 
were  to  be  subject  to  him  and  to  the  future  arch- 
bishops of  the  English  Church.  Augustin  endea- 
voured to  persuade  the  Welsh  clergy  to  join  him  in 
preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  Teutonic  invaders,  and 
held  a  meeting  Avith  them  at  or  near  Aust,  on  the 
Severn.  But  they  refused  to  acknowledge  his  authority, 
or  even  to  hold  communion  with  him,  and  would  not 
give  up  their  peculiar  usages  with  respect  to  the  date 
of  Easter  and  the  administration  of  Baptism.  At 
Augustin's  request,  Gregory  sent  him  a  letter  of  in- 
structions as  to  the  government  of  the  Church.  It 
bears  witness  to  the  Pope's  largeness  of  mind.  While 
morality  and  decency  were  to  be  enforced,  the  arch- 
bishop was  not  bound  strictly  to  follow  the  Roman 
ritual ;  if  he  found  anything  that  he  thought  would 
be  helpful  to  his  converts  in  the  Gallican  or  any  other 
use,  he  might  adopt  it,  and  so  make  up  a  use  col- 
lected from  various  sources. 

Excellent  as  Gregory's  scheme  would  have  been  had 
Britain  still  been  under  Roman  rule,  it  was  unsuited 
Causes  of  its  ^^  a  country  divided  as  England  then  was 
fiiiiuie.  -j^^Q  several  rival  kingdoms.     London  did  not 

become  a  metropolitan  see,  probably  because  ^thelberht 
was  unwilling  that  the  seat  of  ecclesiastical  authority 
should  be  transferred  from  his  own  kino-dom  to  the  chief 


4     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  A  ges. 

city  of  a  dependent  people,  while  Augustin  liad  no  wish 
that  the  church  which  he  had  founded  at  Canterbury, 
and  the  second  monastery,  now  called  after  him,  which  he 
had  begun  to  build  there  for  a  burying-place  for  himself 
and  his  successors,  should  be  reduced  to  a  lower  rank. 
Other  Roman  clergy  had  been  sent  by  Gregory  to  re- 
inforce the  mission,  and  of  these  Augustin  consecrated 
Mellitus  to  be  bishop  of  London,  Justus  to  be  bishop 
over  Kent  west  of  the  Medway,  with  Rochester  as  the 
city  of  his  see,  an  arrangement  that  marks  an  early 
tribal  distinction,  and  Laurentius  to  be  his  own  suc- 
cessor at  Canterbury.  Thus  the  metropolitan  see  re- 
mained with  Kent.  More  generally,  Gregory's  scheme 
failed  because  it  was  founded  on  the  old  division  of 
Britain  as  a  province  of  the  Roman  empire,  and  was 
not  adapted  to  the  tribal  distinctions  of  the  English. 
Moreover,  political  circumstances  determined  the  de- 
velopment of  the  Church ;  for  the  Roman  mission 
received  a  series  of  checks,  and  the  work  of  evangel- 
ization was  taken  up  by  Scottish  missionaries.  The 
kingdoms  into  which  the  country  was  divided  were 
finally  converted  by  efforts  more  or  less  independent 
of  the  Kentish  mission  ;  the  work  of  evangelization  fol- 
lowed tribal  lines,  and  for  sixty  years  after  Augustin 's 
death  the  tendency  of  the  Church  was  towards  dis- 
union. 

Although  the  king  of  the  East  Angles  received 
baptism  in  Kent  at  the  bidding  of  ^Ethelberht,  he  fell 
back  into  idolatry  on  his  return  to  his  own  laud.  And 
as  2Ethelberht's  son,  Eadbald,  was  a  pagan,  many  of  the 
Kentishmen  and  East  Saxons  also  deserted  Christianity 
when  he  became  king.  Eadbald  was  converted  by  Lauren- 


Rome  and  Ion  a.  5 

tius,  and  did  what  lie  conld  to  forward  the  cause  of 
Christ.  With  w^thelberht's  death,  however,  the  great- 
ness of  Kent  passed  away,  and  Eadbald  could  not  in- 
sist on  the  destruction  of  idols  even  in  his  own  country. 
While  Kent  sank  into  political  insignificance  the  Kentish 
mission  made  one  great  advance,  and  then  ended  in 
Foundation  failure.  The  Northumbrian  king,  Eadwine, 
of'tiHeeor''  ^'1^0  reigned  over  the  two  Northumbrian 
York,  627-633.  ting(]oms,  Bernicia  and  Deira,  from  the 
Forth  to  the  Ilumber,  and  gradually  established  a 
supremacy  over  the  whole  English  people  except  the 
Kentishmen,  married  -^thelburh,  the  daughter  of 
^thelberht.  She  was  accompanied  to  her  new  home 
by  Paulinus,  who  was  ordained  bishop  by  Justus,  the 
successor  of  Mcllitns  ;  and  Boniface  V.  wrote  to  her 
exhorting  her  to  labour  for  the  conversion  of  her  hus- 
band, and  saying  that  he  would  not  cease  to  pray  for 
her  success.  His  prayers  were  heard ;  Eadwine  was 
baptized,  and  made  his  capital,  York,  the  seat  of  the 
bishopric  of  Paulinus.  The  people  of  Deira  (York- 
shire) followed  their  king's  example,  while  Bernicia, 
though  Paulinus  preached  and  baptized  there,  remainetl, 
on  the  whole,  heathen ;  no  church  was  built  and  no 
altar  was  raised.  South  of  the  Humber  the  authority 
of  Eadwine  and  the  preaching  of  Paulinus  effected 
the  conversion  of  Lindsey,  and  of  the  king,  at  least, 
of  the  East  Angles.  In  633,  however,  Eadwine  was 
defeated  and  slain  by  Penda,  the  heathen  king  of 
Mercia,  and  Cadwallon,  the  Briton.  Heathenism  was 
already  triumphant  in  East  Anglia,  and  on  Eadwine's 
death  many  of  the  Northumbrians  relapsed  into  idolatry. 
./Ethelburh  and  her  children  sought  shelter  in  Kent, 


6     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

and  Paulinus  fled  witli  them.  Only  one  Eoman  clergy- 
man, the  deacon  James,  remained  in  Nortliumbria  to 
labour  on  in  faith  that  God's  cause  would  yet  triumph 
there.  Ignorant  of  the  calamity  that  had  befallen  the 
Church,  the  Pope,  in  pursuance  of  Gregory's  scheme, 
sent  the  pall  to  Paulinus.  "When  the  papal  gift  arrived 
in  England  the  Church  of  York  had  been  overthrown, 
and  Paulinus  had  been  translated  to  Rochester. 

After  the  success  of  the  Kentish  mission  had  re- 
ceived this  terrible  check,  the  work  of  evangelization 
was  carried  on  by  efforts  that  were  more  or  less  inde- 
independent  peudeut  of  it.  East  Auglia  was  finally 
missions.  converted  by  a  Burgundian  priest  named 
Felix,  who  was  consecrated  bishop  by  Honorius,  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  and  fixed  his  see  at  Dunwich, 
once  on  the  Suffolk  coast.  The  Italian,  Birinus, 
who  was  consecrated  in  Italy,  brought  the  Gospel 
to  the  West  Saxons,  and  received  Dorchester,  in 
Oxfordshire,  for  the  place  of  his  see.  Northumbria 
was  evangelized  by  Celtic  missionaries  who  were  not 
in  communion  with  Rome  and  Canterbury.  About 
the  middle  of  the  sixth  century  the  Irish  Scot, 
Columba,  founded  the  monastery  of  lona.  He  and  his 
companions  preached  the  Gospel  to  the  northern  Picts 
and  the  Scots  of  the  western  isles,  and  lona  became 
a  centre  of  Christian  light.  During  the  reign  of 
Eadwine,  Oswald  and  Oswiu,  princes  of  the  rival 
Bernician  line,  had  found  shelter  in  lona.  Oswald 
returned  to  become  king  of  Bernicia  shortly  after  the 
death  of  Eadwine,  and  before  long  brought  Deira  also 
under  his  dominion.  As  soon  as  he  had  gained  pos- 
session of  the  kingdom  of  Bernicia,  he  sent  to  lona  for 


Rome  and  I  on  a.  7 

missionaries  to  instruct  liis  people.  AiJan,  a  missionary 
from  Colamba's  house,  camo  to  lilm,  and  so  it  came  to 
pass  that  Bernlcla  received  Christianity  from  Celtic 
teachers,  from  Aidan  and  his  fellow-workers.  Oswald 
warmly  seconded  their  efforts,  and  fixed  the  see  of 
Aidan,  who  was  in  bishop's  orders,  in  Lindisfarne,  or 
Foundation  of  Holy  Islc,  not  far  from  Bamborough,  where 
ditfarno,  635.  ho  rcsidcd  ;  for  though  he  ruled  over  both 
the  Northumbrian  kingdoms,  and  completed  the  min- 
ster at  York,  ho  made  his  home  in  the  North,  among 
his  own  people.  Bernicia  thus  became  the  stronghold 
of  Celtic  Christianity  under  the  rule  of  the  kings  of 
the  house  of  Ida,  while  the  Christians  of  Deira  were 
naturally  more  inclined  to  the  Roman  usages  which 
had  been  introduced  by  Paulinus  and  practised  by 
Eadwine  and  his  queen.  Aidan  built  a  monastery 
at  Lindisfarne,  and  peopled  it  with  monks  from  lona. 
This  gave  him  a  good  supply  of  clergy,  and  the 
work  of  evangelization  prospered  and  took  deep  root. 
The  greatness  of  Oswald  provoked  Penda  to  renew  his 
struggle  with  the  northern  kingdom,  and  the  Northum- 
brian king  was  defeated  and  slain  at  Maserfield.  As 
his  foes  closed  round  him  he  prayed  for  their  con- 
version. His  words  sank  deeply  into  men's  hearts. 
"  '  May  God  have  mercy  on  their  souls,'  said  Oswald, 
as  he  fell  to  earth,"  was  a  line  handed  down  from 
generation  to  generation.  From  his  hermit's  retreat 
on  Fame  Island,  Aidan  beheld  the  thick  clouds  of 
smoke  rise  from  the  country  round  Bamborough,  and 
cried,  "  Behold,  Lord,  the  evil  that  Penda  doeth ! " 
Still  the  work  of  God  went  on ;  and  when  Oswiu 
came  to  the  throne  the  prayer  of  Oswald  received  its 


8     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

answer,  for  a  marriage  between  his  house  and  the  house 
of  Penda  led  to  the  evangelization  of  the  Mercians 
and  Middle  Angles  by  the  monks  of  lona.  From 
them  too  the  East  Saxons  received  the  Gospel,  and 
Oedd,  an  English  monk  of  Lindisfarne,  was  consecrated 
to  the  bishopric  that  had  been  held  by  the  Roman 
Mellitus. 

By  the  'middle  of  the  seventh  century  only  Kent 
and  East  Anglia  remained  in  full  and  exclusive  com- 
Soottish  Chris-  m^nion  with  Eome  ;  for  Sussex  was  still 
tiauity.  heathen,  Wini,  the  West  Saxon  bishop,  acted 

with  British  bishops,  and  Scottish  Christianity  pre- 
vailed in  all  the  rest  of  England.  The  Scottish  mission- 
aries were  full  of  zeal  and  self-devotion,  and  were 
masters  of  a  considerable  store  of  learning.  Their 
nature  was  impulsive ;  while  they  were  loving  and 
tender-hearted,  passionate  invectives  came  as  readily 
from  their  lips  as  words  of  love.  Celtic  Christianity 
was  a  religion  of  perpetual  miracles,  of  deep  and  vary- 
ing emotions,  and  of  contempt  for  worldly  things,  that, 
however  noble  in  itself,  was  sometimes  manifested 
extravagantly.  While  its  teachers  seldom  failed  to 
win  men's  love,  they  were  not  equally  successful  in 
influencing  their  conduct.  It  was  well  that  the  Eng- 
lish Church  turned  away  from  them,  for  their  religious 
system  could  never  have  produced  an  organized  eccle- 
siastical society.  It  was  monastic  rather  than  hierar- 
chical, and  a  Celtic  priest-abbot  was  a  far  more  impor- 
tant person  than  a  bishop  who  was  not  the  ruler  of  an 
abbey,  though  in  England  the  bishops  were  probably 
always  abbots.  In  founding  their  sees  they  sought 
seclusion  rather  than  good  administrative  centres,  and 


Rome  and  Ion  a. 


9 


tlio  bisliop's  monastery  was  less  a  place  of  diocesan 
government  than  the  headquarters  of  missionary  effort. 
They  had  no  regular  diocesan  system,  and  bishops  and 
clergy  ministered  -where  they  would.  Their  monas- 
ticism  was  of  a  specially  ascetic  character.  Both  Aidan 
and  Cuthherht  loved  to  leave  the  society  of  the  monks 
at  Lindisfarne,  and  to  retire  to  the  barren  little  Fame 
Island,  where  they  could  only  hear  the  roaring  of  the 
northern  ocean  and  the  crying  of  the  sea-birds.  Cuth- 
berht,  indeed,  even  after  he  joined  the  Eoman  Church, 
kept  the  characteristics  of  the  Scottish  monk.  He  left 
tlie  duties  of  his  bishopric  altogether  and  ended  his  days 
in  his  island-hermitage.  This  love  of  asceticism  was  fatal 
to  the  well-being  of  the  Church  ;  the  individual  soul 
was  everything,  the  Church  was  nothing ;  and  though 
great  victories  were  won  over  heathenism,  the  Scottish 
Church  remained  without  corporate  life.  Lastly,  it  was 
not  in  communion  with  Rome,  and  so  lay  outside 
Catholic  Christendom.  And  though  it  had  much  to 
offer  the  English  both  in  religion  and  learning,  every 
gift  would  have  been  rendered  fruitless  by  isolation 
from  the  progressive  life  of  Western  Christendom. 

It  was,  indeed,  impossible,  from  the  very  nature  of 

things,  that  Celtic  Christianity  should  long  prevail  in 

England,  for  its  arrangements  were  based 

The  scbisDi.  i        i  • 

on  the  loose  organization  of  the  sept,  and 
the  English  needed  arrangements  that  suited  kingship 
and  tended  towards  political  as  well  as  ecclesiastical 
union.  Its  rejection  was,  however,  determined  by 
questions  of  Church  order.  Up  to  the  middle  of  the 
fifth  century  the  Celtic  Christians  computed  Easter  by 
the  Roman  lunar  cycle,  which  had  graduallv  diverged 


10   The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

from  that  of  Eastern  Christendom.  When,  however, 
the  Romans  adopted  a  new  system  of  computation,  the 
Welsh  and  the  Irish  Scots  adhered  to  the  old  cycle ; 
and  they  further  differed  from  the  Eoman  Church  as  re- 
gards the  shape  of  the  tonsure  and  the  rites  observed 
in  the  administration  of  Baptism.  Unimportant  as  such 
differences  may  seem  to  us,  they  were  really  no  light 
matters ;  for,  as  the  Church  was  engaged  in  a  conflict 
with  paganism,  unity  with  itself  was  of  the  first  con- 
sequence. The  points  at  issue  began  to  be  much  de- 
bated in  Northumbria  when  the  gentle-spirited  Aidan 
was  succeeded  at  Lindisfarne  by  Finan,  a  man  of 
violent  temper.  The  Bernician  court  was  divided. 
Oswiu  was  attached  to  the  Scottish  communion,  and 
his  attachment  was  strengthened  by  his  regard  for 
Colman,  the  successor  of  Finan.  On  the  other  hand, 
his  queen,  Eanflged,  the  daughter  of  Eadwine,  belonged 
to  the  Roman  party ;  and  so  it  came  about  that,  while 
the  king  was  keeping  his  Easter  feast,  his  queen  was 
still  in  the  Lenten  fast.  Oswiu's  son,  Alchfrith,  who 
reigned  as  under-king  in  Deira,  left  the  Scottish  com- 
munion and  eagerly  upheld  the  Roman  party.  He 
was  encouraged  by  Wilfrith,  the  abbot  of  Ripon. 
Wilfrith,  who  was  the  child  of  wealthy  parents,  had 
been  led  by  the  unkindness  of  his  stepmother  to  desire 
to  become  a  monk,  and  had  been  sent,  when  a  hand- 
some, clever  lad  of  thirteen,  to  Queen  Eanfited,  that  she 
might  decide  what  he  should  do.  Eanflged  sent  him 
to  Lindisfarne,  and  he  stayed  there  for  some  years. 
Then  she  helped  him  to  visit  Rome,  and  he  made  the 
journey,  which  was  as  yet  unknown  to  his  fellow- 
countrymen,  partly  in  the  company  of  Benedict  Biscop, 


Rome  and  Ion  a,  i  i 

who  became  tlie  founder  of  Roman  monasticism  in  the 
north  of  England.  While  he  was  at  Rome  Wilfrith 
studied  ecclesiastical  matters,  and  especially  the  subject 
of  the  computation  of  Easter.  He  returned  home  fully 
convinced  of  the  excellence  of  the  Roman  Church,  and 
found  in  Alclifrith  a  warm  friend  and  willing  disciple. 
Alchfrith  had  built  a  monastery  at  Ripon,  and  peopled 
it  with  Scottish  monks  from  ^lelrose.  When  he 
adopted  the  Roman  customs,  these  monks,  of  whom 
Cuthberht  was  one,  refused  to  follow  his  example,  and 
accordingly  he  turned  them  out,  and  gave  the  monas- 
tery to  Wilfrith. 

Before  long  Wilfrith,  who  was  a  good  preacher  and 
charitable  to  the  poor,  became  exceedingly  popular. 
The  Synod  of  Tho  ccclesiastical  dispute  was  evidently 
Whitby,  664.  closely  connected  with  the  rivalry  between 
the  two  Northumbrian  kingdoms  ;  the  Roman  cause 
was  U2:theld  in  Deira  and  by  the  Deiran  under-king, 
while  the  Celtic  clergy  were  strong  in  Bernicia,  and 
trusted  in  the  support  of  Oswiu.  A  visit  from  Agilberct, 
a  Frank,  who  had  held  the  West  Saxon  bishopric,  and 
had  since  returned  to  Gaul,  gave  Alchfrith  an  oppor- 
tunity of  bringing  matters  to  an  issue.  Agilberct 
admitted  W^ilfrith  to  the  priesthood,  and  urged  on  a 
decision  of  the  dispute.  A  conference  was  held  at  the 
abbey  of  Strenaeshalch,  or  Whitby.  The  abbey  was  ruled 
by  Hild,  great-niece  of  King  Eadwine,  who  presided 
over  a  congregation  composed  of  monks  as  well  as  nuns. 
Five  of  Hild's  monks  became  bishops,  and  the  poet 
Cajdmon  was  first  a  herdsman,  and  then  a  brother  of 
her  house.  Hild  belonged  to  the  Scottish  party,  which 
was  represented  at  the  conference  by  Colman,  Cedd, 


12     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

and  others.  The  leaders  on  the  Eoman  side  were 
Agilberct,  Wilfrith,  James  the  deacon  of  Paulinus,  and 
Eanflted's  chaplain,  Romanus.  The  question  was  de- 
cided in  a  synod  of  the  whole  Northumbrian  kingdom, 
presided  over  by  Oswiu  and  Alchfrith.  Oswiu  opened 
the  proceedings  with  a  short  speech,  in  which  he 
urged  the  necessity  of  union  and  the  importance  of 
finding  out  what  the  true  tradition  was.  Colman 
then  stated  his  case,  which  he  rested  on  the  tradition 
of  his  Church  and  the  authority  of  St.  John.  At  the 
request  of  Agilberct,  Oswiu  called  on  Wilfrith  to 
answer  him.  Wilfrith  spoke  in  an  overbearing  tone, 
for  he  was  of  an  impatient  temper.  He  sneered  at 
the  obstinacy  of  "a  few  Picts  and  Britons"  in  set- 
ting themselves  in  opposition  to  the  whole  world,  and 
met  Colman's  arguments  by  declaring  that  the  Celtic 
Easter  was  condemned  by  St.  Peter,  of  whom  the  Lord 
had  said,  "  Thou  art  Peter,"  &c.  (Matt.  xvi.  I  8).  On 
this,  Oswiu  asked  Colman  whether  the  Lord  had  indeed 
spoken  thus,  and  when  he  said  that  He  had  done  so, 
further  demanded  whether  his  Columba  had  received 
any  such  power.  Colman  allowed  that  he  had  not.  The 
king  then  asked  whether  both  parties  were  agreed  that 
Peter  had  received  the  keys  of  Heaven.  "  Even  so," 
was  the  answer.  "  Then,"  said  he,  "  I  will  not  go 
against  him  who  is  doorkeeper,  but  will  do  all  I  know 
and  can  to  obey  him,  lest  perchance,  when  I  come  to 
the  door  of  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  I  should  find  none 
to  open  to  me,  because  he  who  holds  the  keys  is  offended 
with  me."  The  assembly  agreed  with  the  king's  deci- 
sion, and  declared  for  tlie  Eoman  usages.  James  the 
deacon  saw  the  reward  of  his  long  and  faithful  labour ; 


Rome  AND  loNA.  13 

he  was  a  skilful  singer,  and  introduced  the  Roman 
method  of  chanting  into  NorthuniLria. 

The  Synod  of  Whitby  is  the  turning-point  in  the 
history  of  the  schism.  Before  many  years  the  Celtic 
party  died  out  in  the  north,  and  though  the  Celtic  cus- 
toms lingered  a  little  longer  among  the  Britons  of  the 
west,  the  decisive  blow  had  been  struck ;  the  Church 
of  England  was  to  follow  Rome.  The  gain  was  great. 
The  Church  was  to  have  a  share  in  the  progressive  life 
of  Catholic  Christianity  ;  it  was  to  have  a  stately  ritual, 
and  to  be  adorned  by  the  arts  and  strengthened  by  the 
learning  of  the  west ;  it  gained  unity  and  organization 
for  itself,  and  the  power  of  exercising  a  determining 
influence  on  the  lives  of  individual  men,  and  on  the 
formation  and  history  of  the  future  State.  Neverthe- 
less, the  decision  of  the  synod  was  not  all  gain,  for  it 
led  to  the  submission  of  the  Church  to  papal  authority, 
and  in  times  of  national  weakness  exposed  it  to  joapal 
aggression. 

Colman  refused  to  accept  the  decision  of  the  synod, 

and  left  England  in  anger,  taking  several  of  his  monks 

with  him.      His  departure  ruined  the  cause 

Restoration  n    ^   •        ^\^  i  tt-  •  t 

of  the  see  of  01  his  Churcu.  His  successov  m  the  vast 
Northumbrian  diocese  died  of  the  terrible 
plague  that  visited  England  the  year  of  the  Synod. 
Then  the  two  kings  held  a  meeting  of  the  Northum- 
brian witan,  and  Wilfrith  was  chosen  bishop.  The 
victory  of  his  party  was  further  declared  by  the  resto- 
ration of  the  see  of  York.  Ever  since  the  flight  of 
Paulinus,  York  had  remained  without  a  bishop;  now, 
doubtless  at  the  instance  of  Alchfrith  and  the  people 
of  Deira,  it  took  the  place  of  Bernician  Lindisfarue  as 


14     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

the  seat  of  tlie  Nortliumbrian  bishopric.  Wilfrith  went 
to  Gaul  to  receive  consecration,  on  the  ground  that 
there  were  not  three  canonically  ordained  bishops  in 
England,  an  assertion  which  seems  to  have  been  hasty 
and  incorrect.  He  stayed  abroad  for  three  years,  and 
so  well-nigh  threw  away  the  victory  he  had  gained, 
for  while  he  was  absent  Alchfrith  lost  his  kingdom,  and 
the  rivalry  between  the  two  divisions  of  Northumbria 
found  expression  in  a  revulsion  of  feeling  in  eccle- 
siastical matters.  When  he  came  back  he  found  that 
Aidan's  disciple,  Ceadda  (St.  Chad),  the  brother  of 
Cedd,  who  had  adopted  the  Eoman  customs,  had  been 
appointed  bishop  in  his  place.  He  retired  to  Kipon, 
acted  as  bishop  in  other  parts,  and  helped  forward  the 
introduction  of  Roman  monasticism  into  monasteries 
that  had  hitherto  followed  the  Columban  model. 


(     15    ) 


CHAPTER  11. 

ORG  ANIZA  TION. 

ARCHBISHOP  THEODORE — HIS  WORK  IN  ORGANIZATION— NEW  DIO- 
CESES—WILFUITH's  APPEALS  TO  ROME— LITERART  GREATNESS 
OF  NORTHLMURIA  —  PARISHES — TITHES  —  THE  CHURCH  IN 
■\VESSEX — A  THIRD  ARCHBISHOPRIC — THE  CHURCH  IN  RELA- 
TION  TO  THE   STATE — TO   ROME — TO  WESTERN  CHRISTENDOM. 

Among  tlie  victims  of  the  pLague  of  664  was  Arch- 
,   ,'  . ,  bisliop  Deusdedit,  the  first  Enorlish  successor 

Archbishop  ... 

Thcdore,  of  Augustiu.  After  the  see  of  Canterbury 
had  lain  vacant  for  three  years,  Oswiu,  who 
lield  a  kind  of  supremacy  in  England,  and  Ecgberht 
of  Kent  joined  in  writing  to  Pope  Vitalian,  asking 
him  to  consecrate  a  Kentish  priest  named  Wighard 
as  archbishop.  Wighard  died  of  the  plague  at  Eome 
before  he  was  consecrated,  and  the  Pope  wrote  to  the 
kings  that,  agreeably  to  their  request,  he  was  looking 
for  a  fit  man  to  be  consecrated.  As,  however,  the 
kings  had  made  no  such  request,  and  had  simply  asked 
him  to  consecrate  the  man  whom  thev  and  the  EuMisli 
Church  had  chosen,  his  letter  was  more  clever  than 
liouest.  He  made  choice  of  a  Greek  monk,  a  native 
of  Tarsus,  named  Theodore,  who  had  joined  the  Roman 
Church  ;  and  as  the  Greeks  held  unorthodox  opinions, 
lie  sent  with   him   Hadrian,  an  African,   abbot   of  the 


1 6    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

Niridan  monastery,  near  Naples,  tliat  lie  miglit  prevent 
him  from  teacliing  any  wrong  doctrines.  Theodore 
was  consecrated  by  the  Pope  in  66Z^  and  set  out  for 
England  with  Hadrian  and  Benedict  Biscop,  of  whom 
much  will  be  said  in  the  volume  of  this  series  on 
monasticism.  Both  Theodore  and  Hadrian  were  learned 
men,  and  the  archbishop  gathered  round  him  a  num- 
ber of  students,  whom  they  instructed  in  arts  and 
sciences  as  well  as  in  Biblical  knowledge.  They  also 
taught  Latin  and  Greek  so  thoroughly  that  some  of 
their  scholars  spoke  both  languages  as  readily  as  Eng- 
lish, and  for  the  first  time  England  had  a  learned 
native  clergy.  Many  of  their  scholars  became  teachers 
of  others,  and  in  the  darkest  period  of  ignorance  in 
Gaul,  England,  and  especially  Northumbria,  entered 
on  a  period  of  literary  splendour  that  lasted  until  the 
Danish  invasions. 

As  the  Church  was  now  rapidly  passing  from  the 
missionary  to  the  pastoral  stage  of  its  existence,  it 
His  ecclesiastical  iiesded  Organization  as  a  permanent  insti- 
organizatiou.  tutiou.  This  Organization  was  given  to  it 
by  Theodore.  He  established  his  authority  over  the 
whole  Church,  and,  long  before  any  one  thought  of  a 
national  monarchy,  planned  a  national  archiepiscopate. 
He  made  a  visitation  of  every  see,  and  for  the  first 
time  every  bishop  owned  obedience  to  Canterbury ; 
while,  as  far  as  the  English  were  concerned,  he  virtu- 
ally brought  the  schism  to  an  end  by  enforcing  the 
decision  of  the  Synod  of  Whitby.  When  he  came 
to  York  he  told  Ceadda  that  his  consecration  was 
uncanonical.  The  saintly  bishop  declared  his  readi- 
ness to  resign ;  he  had  ever,  he  said,  deemed  himself 


Organiza  tion.  1 7 

unworthy  of  the  episcopal  office.  Theodore  was 
touched  by  his  humility,  and  reordained  him ;  he 
received  the  Mercian  bishopric,  and  lived  for  a  little 
while  in  great  holiness  at  Lichfield.  Wilfrith  was 
restored  to  York,  and  ruled  his  diocese  with  magni- 
ficence. When  Theodore  had  thus  established  his 
authority,  he  proceeded  to  give  the  Church  a  diocesan 
system  and  a  means  of  legislation  in  ecclesiastical 
matters.  He  called  a  national  council  of  the  Church 
to  meet  at  Hertford  ;  it  was  attended  by  the  bishops  and 
sevei'al  "  m.asters  of  Church,"  men  learned  in  ecclesias- 
tical affairs,  and  in  it  the  archbishop  produced  a  body  of 
canons  which  were  universally  accepted.  These  canons 
declared  that  the  Roman  Easter  was  to  be  observed 
everywhere ;  that  no  bishop  should  intrude  into 
another's  diocese ;  that  no  priest  should  minister  out 
of  his  own  diocese  without  producing  letters  of  recom- 
mendation ;  that  a  synod  of  the  whole  Church  should 
be  held  every  year  at  Clevesho,  probably  near  London ; 
and  that  more  bishops  were  needed,  a  matter  which  it 
was  decided  to  defer  for  the  present. 

Instead  of  the  symmetrical  arrangement  contem- 
plated by  Gregory,  certain  bishoprics  were  of  immense 
Creation  of  ^i^e,  for  the  diocese  in  each  case  was  simply 
new  dioceses,  ^.j^g  kingdom  lookcd  at  from  an  ecclesias- 
tical point  of  view,  and  as  the  boundaries  of  a  king- 
dom were  changed  by  the  fortune  of  war  the  diocese 
was  enlarged  or  diminished.  The  whole  of  Central 
England  was  included  in  the  one  Mercian  diocese,  and 
the  whole  of  Northumbria — for  Lindisfarne  was  nov/ 
without  a  separate  bishop — lay  in  the  diocese  of  Wil- 
frith.     Theodore  saw  that  it  was  necessary  to  subdivide 

C.  H.  B 


1 8     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  A  ges. 

these  and  other  dioceses,  and  his  intention  was  approved 
at  Kome.  His  plan  of  procedure  was  first  to  gain  the 
approval  of  the  king  whose  kingdom  would  be  affected 
by  the  change  he  wished  to  make,  and  then  to  obtain 
the  consent  of  the  witan.  Hitherto  the  dioceses 
had  been  based  on  political  circumstances  ;  the  new 
dioceses  were  generally  formed  on  tribal  lines.  He 
divided  East  Anglia  into  two  dioceses.  The  North 
folk  and  the  South  folk  each  had  a  bishop  of  their  own, 
and  the  new  see  was  placed  at  Elmham.  Mercia  was 
divided  into  five  dioceses ;  the  Hwiccan,  the  Hecanan, 
the  Mercians  proper,  the  Middle  Angles,  and  the  Lind- 
sey  folk  each  received  a  bishop,  and  the  five  sees  were 
respectively  at  Worcester,  Hereford,  Lichfield,  Leicester, 
and  Sidnacester.  The  division  of  the  West  Saxon  see 
was  put  off  until  the  death  of  the  bishop.  In  dealing 
with  the  Northumbrian  diocese  King  Ecgfrith  and  the 
archbishop  seem  to  have  expected  opposition  from 
Wilfrith,  for  they  divided  his  diocese  in  a  council 
at  which  he  was  not  present.  According  to  the  plan 
then  adopted,  Theodore  consecrated  bishops  for  Deira, 
Bernicia,  and  Lindsey,  which,  though  originally  part 
of  the  Mercian  diocese,  had  lately  been  added  to  the 
Northumbrian  kingdom  and  bishopric  by  conquest. 

Wilfrith  appeared  before  the  king  and  the  archbishop, 
and  demanded  to  be  told  why  he  was  thus  deprived 
of  his  rights.  No  answer  was  given  him, 
appeaito  and  lie  appealed  to  the  judgment  of  the 
ome,  7  .  ^pQgtoiJc  gee.  This  appeal  to  Rome  against 
the  decision  of  a  king  and  his  witan,  and  of  an  arch- 
bishop acting  in  concert,  the  first  that  was  ever  made 
by  an  Englishman,  is  a  notable  event.     It  was  greeted 


Or  ga  niza  tion.  i  9 

with  tlie  jeers  of  the  great  men  of  tlie  court.  Wil- 
frith  went  to  Home  in  person,  and  Theodore  appeared  by 
a  proctor.  Pope  Agatho  and  his  cor.ncil  decreed  that 
Wilfrith  shoukl  be  reinstated,  that  his  diocese  should 
be  divided,  but  that  he  should  choose  the  new  bishops, 
and  that  Theodore's  bishops  should  be  turned  out. 
Wilfrith  returned  in  triumph,  bringing  the  papal  de- 
crees with  their  bulls  (seals)  attached.  A  witenagemot 
was  held  to  hear  them,  and  the  king  and  his  nobles 
decided  to  disregard  them.  Wilfrith  was  imprisoned, 
and  Theodore  made  a  further  division  of  his  diocese  by- 
establishing  a  see  at  Abercorn,  and  appointed  bishops 
for  Lindisfarne,  Hexham,  and  perhaps  Ripon  without 
consulting  him.  After  Wilfrith  was  released  he  was 
forced  by  the  hatred  of  Ecgfrith  to  wander  about  seek- 
ing shelter,  until  at  last  he  found  it  among  the  heathen 
South  Saxons.  He  converted  them  to  Christianity,  and 
lived  as  their  bishop  at  Selsey.  "then  he  preached  to 
the  people  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  and  by  their  conversion 
completed  the  work  that  Augustin  came  to  do.  The 
death  of  Ecgfrith  made  it  possible  for  Theodore  to  come 
to  terms  with  him.  The  archbishop  and  the  injured 
bishop  were  reconciled  in  686,  and  at  Theodore's  re- 
quest Ealdfrith,  the  new  king  of  Northumbria,  reinstated 
Wilfrith  as  bishop  of  York.  Nevertheless  the  division 
that  Theodore  had  made  was  not  disturbed,  and  he  only 
presided  over  the  Deiran  diocese.  After  some  years 
Heisdrivon  ^^^  ^^'■^  Ealdfrith  had  a  dispute  about  the 
secoiidtim^  rights  and  possessions  of  his  see.  He  was 
^9'-  again  driven  from  York,  and  again  appealed 

to  Rome.  Pope  Sergius  took  his  part.  But  Eald- 
frith,  though    a    religious    man,    was    not    more    in- 


20     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

clined  to  submit  to  papal  interference  than  liis  prede- 
cessor. He  found  an  ally  in  Arclibisliop  Brilitwald, 
for  Theodore  was  now  dead,  and  in  spite  of  the 
Pope's  mandates,  AVilfrith's  claims  were  rejected  by  a 
national  synod  of  the  Church.  He  again  appealed  to 
Rome,  and  was  excommunicated  by  the  English  bishops. 
Again  he  journeyed  to  Rome,  and  John  VI.  pronounced 
a  decree  in  his  favour.  Ealdfrith,  however,  declared 
that  he  would  never  change  his  decision  for  papal 
writings,  and  it  was  not  until  after  his  death  that  a 
compromise  was  effected  in  a  Northumbrian  synod 
held  on  the  Nidd  in  705.  The  settlement  was  unfa- 
vourable to  Wilfrith,  for  he  was  not  restored 

Pies  bishop  ,._  -\  •    ^ 

of  Hexham,  to  Yoi'K,  Dut  ended  his  days  as  bishop 
of  Hexham.  He  was  a  man  of  blameless 
life  and  indomitable  courage.  It  was  mainly  through 
his  efforts  that  the  Church  of  England  was  brought 
into  conformity  with  the  Roman  Church.  Defeat  never 
made  him  idle  or  despondent,  and  his  noblest  triumphs, 
the  conversion  of  the  last  heathen  people  of  English 
race,  were  won  in  exile.  At  the  same  time,  he  was 
hasty,  impolitic,  and  perhaps  over-jealous  for  his  own 
honour.  In  the  part  that  the  two  archbishops  took 
against  him  it  is  hard  not  to  see  some  fear  lest  the 
magnificence  of  the  northern  prelate  should  endanger 
the  authority  of  Canterbury  in  Northumbria,  though 
they  certainly  acted  for  the  good  of  the  Church  in  in- 
sisting on  the  division  of  his  vast  diocese.  He  made 
the  first  attempt  to  control  English  ecclesiastical  affairs 
by  invoking  the  appellate  jurisdiction  of  the  Pope,  and 
his  defeat  was  the  first  of  the  many  checks  that  papal 
interference  received  from  Englishmen. 


Organization.  21 

From  tlio  time  of  its  conversion  by  Aidan  to  its 
devastation  by  the  Scandinavian  pirates,  Northum- 
Literary  great-  ^^^^  cxcelled  the  rcst  of  England  in  arts 
thunibril"'^"  ^"^^  literature.  Another  volume  of  this 
664-782.  series  will    deal    with   the    famous   monas- 

teries of  Lindisfarne,  Jarrow,  Wearmouth,  AVliitby, 
and  York,  with  their  scholar-monks,  and  with  the 
splendours  of  Roman  and  Gallic  art  with  which  their 
churches  were  enriched.  While  Celtic  culture  was  on 
Csedmon,  '^^^  point  of  yielding  to  lloman  influence, 
d.  680.  Cffidmon,   the  herdsman,   the   first    of   our 

sacred  poets,  began  to  sing  at  Whitby.  His  story 
illustrates  the  love  of  the  English  for  music  ;  and 
this  national  characteristic  caused  the  introduction  of 
the  Roman  system  of  chanting  to  hold  an  important 
place  in  the  process  of  bringing  the  Church  into  con- 
formity with  Rome.  This  part  of  the  work  of  James 
^ddi  [Eddius],  ^^^  dcacou  was  carried  on  by  -^ddi,  a 
^-  7'°-  choirmaster  of  Canterbury,  whom  Wilfrith 

invited  into  Northumbria.  .^ddi  became  the  bishop's 
companion,  and  Avrote  a  "  Life  of  Wilfrith,"  a  work 
of  considerable  value.  Shortly  afterwards 
Bccda  composed  his  "  Ecclesiastical  His- 
tory." Ba3da  was  absolutely  free  from  narrowness  of 
mind,  and  though  he  held  that  the  Roman  tradition 
was  authoritative,  loved  and  venerated  the  memory  of 
the  holy  men  of  the  Celtic  Church.  As  a  story-teller 
he  is  unrivalled  :  full  of  piety  and  tenderness,  he  pre- 
served through  life  a  simplicity  of  heart  that  invests 
his  narratives  with  a  peculiar  grace.  At  the  same 
time,  he  did  all  in  his  power  to  find  out  the  exact 
truth,  and  constantly  tells  his  readers  where  he  derived 


22     The  English  Church  in  the  J\Tiddle  Ages. 

his  information.  He  was  well  read  in  tlie  best  Latin 
authors,  and  in  patristic  divinity  ;  he  understood  Greek, 
and  had  some  acquaintance  with  Hebrew.  Besides 
his  works  on  the  Bible  and  his  historical  and  biogra- 
phical books,  he  wrote  treatises  on  chronology,  astro- 
nomy, mathematics,  and  music.  From  boyhood  he 
spent  all  his  life  in  the  monastery  of  Jarrow  in  reli- 
gious exercises  and  in  literary  labours,  that  he  under- 
took not  for  his  own  sake,  but  for  the  sake  of  others. 
Durinsr  his  last  sickness  he  worked  hard  to  finish  his 
translation  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  for  he  knew 
that  it  would  be  useful  to  his  scholars.  His  last  day 
on  earth  was  spent  upon  it ;  and  when  evening  came, 
and  the  young  scribe  said,  "There  is  yet  one  more 
sentence,  dear  master,  to  be  written  out,"  he  answered, 
"  Write  quickly."  After  a  while  the  lad  said,  "  Now 
the  sentence  is  written  ;  "  and  he  answered,  "  Good  ; 
thou  hast  spoken  truly.  It  is  finished."  Then  he 
bade  him  raise  his  head,  for  he  wished  to  look  on  the 
spot  where  he  was  wont  to  pray.  And  so,  lying  on 
the  pavement  of  his  cell,  he  sang  the  Gloria  Fatri,  and 
as  he  uttered  the  name  of  the  Holy  Ghost  he  passed  to 
the  heavenly  kingdom. 

One  of  Bgeda's  friends  was  Ecgberht,  who  was  made 
bishop  of  York  in  734,  and  obtained  the  restoration 
of  the  metropolitan  dignity  of  his  see.  A  year  after  his 
election  Bteda  sent  him  a  letter  of  advice  which  tells 
us  a  good  deal  about  the  state  of  the  Church.  While 
the  work  of  evangelization  was  still  going  on,  monas- 
teries were  useful  as  missionary  centres,  and  a  single 
clinrch  served  for  a  large  district.  Now,  however, 
men  no  longer  needed  missionary  preachers  so  much 


Or  ganiza  TioN.  2  3 

as  resident  priests  and  regular  services.  Accord- 
ingly, the  parocliial  system  came  into  ex- 
istence about  this  time,  not  by  any  formal 
enactment,  but  in  the  natural  course  of  things.  For, 
when  the  lord  of  a  township  built  a  church,  and 
had  a  priest  ordained  to  minister  to  his  people, 
his  township  in  most  cases  became  an  ecclesiastical 
district  or  parish.  Basda  urges  the  bishop  to  for- 
ward this  change.  He  points  out  that  it  was  impos- 
sible for  him  to  visit  every  place  in  his  diocese  even 
once  a  year,  and  exhorts  him  to  ordain  priests  to 
preach,  to  consecrate  the  Holy  Mysteries,  and  to 
baptize  in  each  village.  The  parish  priest  mainly 
subsisted  on  land  assigned  to  him  by  the  lord  who 
built  the  church  and  on  the  offerings  of  the  people, 
such  as  church-scot,  which  was  paid  at  Martinmas, 
soul-scot  or  mortuary  dues,  and  the  like.  These  pay- 
ments were  obligatory,  and  were  enjoined  first  by  the 
law  of  the  Church,  and  then  by  the  civil  power.  It 
is  evident  from  Bffida's  letter  that,  even  before  the 
parochial  system  was  established,  a  compulsory  pay- 
ment of  some  kind  was  made  to  the  bishop  by  all 
the  people  of  his  diocese.  From  the  earliest  times, 
also,  the  consecration  of  a  tenth,  or  tithe,  to 
the  service  of  God  was  held  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian duty,  and  the  obligation  is  recognized  in  Theo- 
dore's Penitential,  and  was  therefore  part  of  the  law 
of  the  Church.  It  became  part  of  the  civil  law  in 
787,  for  it  was  then  enjoined  by  a  council  presided 
over  by  two  legates,  and  the  decree  was  accepted  by 
the  kings  and  the  witan  of  the  kingdoms  they  visited. 
It  is  probable,  however,  that  payment  was  not  enforced 


24     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

till  a  later  period.  Early  in  the  tenth  century  the 
obligation  was  recognized  as  an  established  law,  and 
a  penalty  was  provided  for  its  non-fulfilment.  The 
appropriation  of  the  payment  long  remained  unsettled, 
and  was  generally  decided  by  the  owner  of  the  land, 
who  in  most  cases  naturally  assigned  the  tithe  to  the 
parish  priest,  though  he  sometimes  gave  it  to  the 
head  church  of  the  district,  or  to  the  bishop's  church, 
or  to  some  monastery.  And  although  the  right  of 
the  parochial  clergy  to  the  tithe  of  increase  was  de- 
clared in  1 200  by  the  Council  of  Westminster,  the 
constitution  was  often  evaded. 

Many  monasteries  had  in  Basda's  time  fallen  into  an 
evil  condition,  and  as  the  Church  needed  an  efficient 
Restoration  dioccsau  Organization,  he  advised  Ecgberht 
wshopric  of  to  strive  for  the  fulfilment  of  Pope  Gregory's 
York,  734.  scheme  as  regards  the  Church  in  the  north, 
which  provided  that  the  see  of  York  should  be  metro- 
politan, and  that  the  province  should  be  divided  into 
twelve  bishoprics.  The  new  bishops  should,  he  pro- 
posed, be  supported  out  of  the  funds  of  monasteries, 
which  were  in  some  cases  to  be  placed  under  episcopal 
rule.  In  the  same  year  that  this  letter  was  written, 
Ecgberht  received  the  pall  from  Gregory  III.,  and  this 
grant,  which  had  not  been  made  to  any  of  his  prede- 
cessors since  the  time  of  Paulinus,  restored  the  see  to 
metropolitan  dignity.  Thus  one  part  of  Theodore's 
work  was  frustrated,  and  Northumbria  was  withdrawn 
from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  see  of  Canterbury,  The 
kingdom  itself  was  withdrawing  from  the  contests 
between  the  other  English  states,  and  the  restoration 
of  the  archbishopric  may  bo  regarded   as  a  kind  of 


Organiza  tion. 


25 


declaration  of  its  separate  national  life.  Under  Ecgberlit 
and  his  successor,  ^thelberht  (Albert),  the  Northum- 
brian Church  was  famous  for  learning,  and  the  arch- 
bishop's school  at  York  became  the  most  notable  place 
of  education  in  Western  Christendom.  iEthelberht's 
schoolmaster  was  Alcuin,  who  after  the  archbishop's 
death  resided  at  the  court  of  Charles  the  Great,  and 
helped  him  to  carry  out  his  plans  for  the  advancement 
of  learning.  Alcuin  had  himself  been  a  scholar  at 
York,  and  so  the  school  there  became  a  source  of  light 
to  other  lands.  In  York  itself,  however,  the  light  was 
quenched  before  Alcuin's  death.  Civil  disturbances 
were  followed  by  the  Scandinavian  invasions,  and  the 
Northumbrian  Church  for  a  long  period  almost  dis- 
appears amidst  anarchy  and  ruin. 

In  AVessex  the  work  of  Theodore  was  carried  on  by 
Ealdhelm,  abbot  of  Malmesbury,  one  of  his  most  dis- 
Eaidheim,  tinguished  scholars.  Ini,  the  West  Saxon 
borne'' dLd'T  ^^^^=>  ^^^  conqucrcd  the  western  part  of 
Somerset,  and  ruled  over  a  mixed  popula- 
tion. The  bitter  feelings  engendered  by  the  schism 
were  an  hindrance  to  the  Church  in  the  west,  and 
Ealdhelm  wrote  a  treatise  on  the  subject  in  the  form 
of  a  letter  to  Gerent,  king  of  Dyfnaint,  which  brought 
a  number  of  the  Welsh  within  the  West  Saxon  border 
to  conform  to  the  customs  of  the  Roman  Church.  This 
put  an  end  to  the  schism  in  the  west.  In  our  pre- 
sent Wales  the  Roman  Easter  was  universally  accepted 
about  a  century  later.  Ealdhelm,  who  was  a  kinsman 
of  Ini,  was  much  honoured  by  the  king,  and  used  his 
influence  to  further  the  spread  of  the  Gospel.  Churches 
rose  rapidly  in  Wessex,  and  he  journeyed  to  Rome  to 


26     The  Ex  gush  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

obtain  privileges  for  tlie  monasteries  he  liad  founded, 
and  was  received  with  much  kindness  by  Pope  Sergius. 
The  division  of  the  West  Saxon  diocese  which  had 
been  contemplated  by  Theodore  took  place  in  Ini's 
reign,  and  was  settled  by  the  king  and  an  ecclesiastical 
council.  All  to  the  west  of  Selwood  Forest,  the  western 
part  of  Wiltshire,  Dorset,  and  Somerset  formed  the 
new  diocese  of  Sherborne,  and  over  this  Ealdhelm  was 
chosen  bishop.  The  rest  of  Wessex  remained  in  the 
diocese  of  Winchester,  which  had  now  taken  the  place 
of  Dorchester  as  an  episcopal  see.  The  labours  of 
Ealdhelm,  and  the  help  he  received  from  his  wise  and 
powerful  kinsman,  brought  about  the  extension  and 
organization  of  the  Church  in  the  west.  After  raising 
Wessex  to  the  foremost  place  among  the  kingdoms 
south  of  the  Humber,  Ini  laid  down  his  crown,  made 
a  pilgrimage  to  Rome,  and  died  there. 

In  the  latter  half  of  the  eighth  century  Offa,  king 
of  Mercia,  was  the  most  powerful  monarch  in  England, 
Thearoh-  ^^^^^3  among  Other  conquests,  subdued  Kent 
Lk;'hfieid°  °^  and  added  it  to  his  dominions.  The  course 
786-802.  Qf   political   events    tended    to    a  threefold 

division  of  England  into  the  Northumbrian,  Mercian, 
and  West  Saxon  kingdoms,  and  the  twofold  system 
of  ecclesiastical  administration  by  the  metropolitans  of 
Canterbury  and  York  thwarted  the  ambition  of  the 
Mercian  king.  Northumbria  had  already  sealed  its 
policy  of  separation  by  the  restoration  of  the  arch- 
bishopric of  York,  and  Offa  now  adopted  a  similar 
course,  by  persuading  Pope  Hadrian  I.  to  grant  the  see 
of  Lichfield  metropolitan  dignity.  He  had  a  special 
reason  for  weakening   the    power    of  Canterbur}^,   for 


OrGANIZA  TION.  27 

after  the  extinction  of  Kentish  royalty  the  archbishop 
gained  increased  political  importance,  and  became  the 
representative  of  the  national  life  of  the  kingdom, 
which  Olfa  vainly  endeavoured  to  crush.  Accordingly 
two  legates  of  Hadrian  held  a  synod  at  Chelsea  in  'j'^'J , 
in  which  Iligberlit,  bishop  of  Lichfield,  was  declared 
an  archbishop.  Jaeuberht,  archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
was  forced  to  submit  to  the  partition  of  his  province, 
the  obedience  of  the  Mercian  and  East  Anglian  bishops 
being  apparently  transferred  to  the  new  metropolitan. 

This  arrangement  was  subversive  of  a  part  of 
Theodore's  work  that  was  specially  valuable  as  re- 
gards the  development  both  of  the  Church  and  the 
nation.  Theodore  had  made  ecclesiastical  jurisdictions 
independent  of  the  fluctuations  of  political  boundaries, 
and  had  freed  the  Church  from  provincial  influences 
and  from  a  merely  local  character.  The  national 
character  of  the  Church  was  to  become  a  powerful 
factor  in  forming  the  English  nation.  In  spite  of 
civil  divisions,  the  oneness  of  the  Church  was  a  strong 
clement  of  union.  Although  no  lay  assembly,  no 
witenagemot,  of  the  whole  nation  was  as  yet  possible, 
the  Church  met  in  national  councils  ;  its  head,  the  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury-,  might  be  a  native  of  any  king- 
dom, and  every  one  of  its  clergy,  of  whatever  race  he 
might  be,  was  equally  at  home  in  whatever  part  of  the 
land  he  was  called  to  minister.  This  national  character 
of  the  Church  and  the  influence  it  exercised  on  national 
unity  were  endangered  by  creating  metropolitan  juris- 
diction and  dignity  as  mere  appendages  to  a  political 
division.  Happily  there  was  no  second  archbishop  of 
Lichfield.     Offa's  successor,  Cenwulf,  found  ^thelheard, 


28     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

the  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  a  useful  ally  in  a  revolt 
of  the  Kentish  nobles,  and  joined  him  in  obtaining  the 
restoration  of  the  rights  of  his  see  from  Leo  III.  While 
the  see  of  York  was  overwhelmed  by  political  disasters, 
the  archbishop  of  Canterbury  gained  increased  import- 
ance. Wessex  entered  on  a  career  of  conquest  under 
Ecgberht,  who,  in  827,  defeated  the  Mercian  king  at 
Ellandun.  This  victory  led  to  the  conquest  of  Kent, 
and  in  838  Archbishop  Ceolnoth,  in  a  council  held  at 
Kingston,  made  a  treaty  of  perpetual  alliance  between 
his  Church  and  Ecgberht  and  his  son  iEthelwulf,  the 
under-king  of  Kent.  By  this  alliance  the  Church 
pledged  itself  to  support  the  line  of  kings  under  which 
the  English  at  last  became  a  united  nation. 

No  distinct  lines  divide  the   area   of  the   Church's 

work  in  legislation  or  jurisdiction  from  that  occupied 

by  the   State.      Bishops,   in  virtue  of  their 

The  Church  . 

in  relation  to  spiritual  dignity,  formed  part  of  the  witan, 
first  of  the  several  kingdoms,  and  then  of 
the  united  nation.  In  the  witenagemots  laws  were 
enacted  concerning  religion,  morality,  and  ecclesiastical 
discii3line,  as  well  as  secular  matters ;  for  the  clergy 
had  no  reason  to  fear  lay  interference,  and  gladly 
availed  themselves  of  the  authority  that  was  attached 
to  the  decrees  of  the  national  council.  The  evan- 
gelization of  the  people  caused  some  modification  of 
their  ancient  laws  and  customs,  and  ^thelberht  of 
Kent  and  other  kings  published  written  codes  "  after 
the  Roman  model,"  in  accordance  with  the  teaching  of 
their  bishops.  It  is  evident  that  bishops  were  usually 
appointed,  and  often  elected,  in  the  witenagemot.  Wil- 
frith  was  elected,  "  by  common  consent,"  in  a  meeting 


Orgax/zatio.w  29 

of  the  Nortluimbrian  witan,  and  the  election  of  Eald- 
helni  by  the  "West  Saxon  assembly  is  said  to  have  been 
luade  by  the  great  men,  the  clergy,  and  a  multitude  of 
people,  though  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  popular 
voico  was  ever  heard  except  in  assent.  Nor  does  it  seem 
certain  that  even  the  form  of  election  was  always  ob- 
served ;  for,  to  take  a  single  instance,  Ceadda's  appoint- 
ment to  Lichfield  seems  to  have  been  made  by  Theodore 
at  the  request  of  the  Mercian  king.  The  clergy  of  the 
bishop's  church,  however,  had  a  right  of  election,  for 
Alcuin  wrote  to  the  clergy  of  York  reminding  them 
that  the  election  of  the  archbishop  belonged  to  them. 
Episcopal  elections  were,  indeed,  the  results  of  amic- 
able arrangement,  and  exemplify  the  undefined  condition 
of  the  relations  between  the  Church  and  the  State, 
and  the  harmony  that  existed  between  them.  The 
Church,  however,  had  its  own  councils.  These  were 
either  national,  such  as  that  held  by  Theodore  at  Hat- 
field, or,  after  the  restoration  of  the  northern  archi- 
episcopate,  provincial,  or  assemblies  of  the  Church 
of  a  single  kingdom,  such  as  the  Synod  of  Whitby. 
In  spite  of  the  canon  directing  that  national  Church 
councils  should  meet  annually,  they  were  not  often 
held,  owing  to  the  constant  strife  between  the  king- 
doms. An  amendment  to  one  of  Theodore's  canons 
1 J  roves  the  freedom  of  discussion  and  voting  at  these 
assemblies.  Provincial  councils  were  attended  by  a 
few  of  the  principal  clergy  of  each  diocese,  who  came 
up  to  them  with  their  bishop.  Kings  and  nobles  were 
often  present  at  ecclesiastical  councils,  and  joined  in 
attesting  their  proceedings,  so  that  it  is  sometimes 
difficult  to  decide  whether  a  council  was  a  clerical 
assembly  or  a  meeting  of  the  witan. 


30     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  A  ges. 

The  harmony  between  Church  and  State  is  no  less 
evident  in  matters  of  jurisdiction  than  it  is  in  legislation. 
Besides  exercising  jurisdiction  in  his  own  franchise,  the 
bishop  sat  with  the  ealdorman  and  sheriff  in  the  local 
courts,  declaring  the  ecclesiastical  law  and  taking 
coarnizance  of  the  breach  of  it.  Certain  cases  touching 
morality  appear  to  have  specially  belonged  to  his  juris- 
diction, which  was  also  exercised  in  the  local  courts  over 
criminal  clergy.  Apart  from  his  work  in  these  courts, 
he  enforced  ecclesiastical  discipline,  and  the  rules  con- 
tained in  the  Penitentials,  or  codes  in  which  a  special 
penance  was  provided  for  each  sin.  These  compila- 
tions derived  their  authority  not  from  any  decree,  but 
from  their  inherent  excellence,  or  from  the  character  of 
their  authors.  Some  Penitentials  were  drawn  up  by 
Scottish  teachers,  and  Theodore,  Beeda,  and  Ecgberht 
of  York  wrote  others  for  the  English  Church.  The 
bishop  had  a  court  of  his  own  for  the  correction  of 
clergy  not  accused  of  civil  crime  and  for  the  adminis- 
tration of  penitential  discipline.  His  chief  officer,  the 
archdeacon,  first  appears  under  that  title,  though  with- 
out territorial  jurisdiction,  early  in  the  ninth  century. 
Before  that  time  the  bishop  was  attended  by  his 
deacon,  but  this  office  was  one  of  personal  service  rather 
than  of  administration.  No  jealousy  can  be  discerned 
between  Church  and  State,  and  though  the  area  within 
which  each  worked  was  not  clearly  defined,  it  is  clear 
that  they  worked  together  without  clashing. 

While,  howevei',  the  Church  had  this  strongly 
national  character,  it  was  in  obedience  to  the  Roman 
The  Church  and  ^^e.  Arclibishops  did  not  consecrate 
the  Papacy.  bishops  uutil  they  had  received  the  pall 
from  the  Pope.      At  first  the  pall  was  sent  to  them, 


OrGANIZA  TION.  3 1 

but  by  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  century  they  were 
expected  to  fetch  it,  and  this  soon  became  an  invari- 
able rule,  which  strengthened  the  idea  of  tlie  depen- 
dence of  the  Church,  and  afforded  opportunities  for 
extortion  and  aggression.  No  legates  landed  here 
from  the  time  of  Theodore  until  two  were  sent  over  by 
Hadrian  in  786.  Hadrian's  legates  held  synods  in 
both  the  two  provinces,  and  published  a  body  of 
canons,  which  the  kings  and  their  thegns,  the  arch- 
bishops, bishops,  and  all  who  attended  pledged  them- 
selves to  obey.  By  one  of  these  the  payment  of 
tithes  was,  we  have  seen,  made  part  of  the  law  of  the 
land.  Another  illustrates  the  influence  of  the  Church 
on  the  conception  of  kingship.  Although  the  crown 
invested  the  king  with  personal  pre-eminence,  there 
was  as  yet  no  idea  of  the  sanctity  conferred  by  the 
reliofious  rite  of  anointincr,  which  had  taken  the  place 
of  the  old  Teutonic  ceremonies.  It  was  now  ordained 
that  no  one  of  illegitimate  birth  should  be  chosen  king, 
for  none  such  might  enter  the  priesthood,  and  that 
any  one  who  plotted  the  king's  death  should  be  held 
guilty  of  the  sin  of  Judas,  because  the  king  was  the 
Lord's  Anointed.  The  Church,  however,  was  not  to 
fall  into  the  snare  of  adulation ;  bishops  were  to  speak 
the  word  of  God  to  kinjifs  without  fear,  and  kinf^s  were 
to  obey  them  as  those  who  held  the  keys  of  Heaven. 

For  the  next  three  hundred  years  the  Church  was 
almost  wholly  free  from  the  direct  control  of  legatine 
visits.  Appeals  to  the  judgment  of  the  Roman  see  had 
for  the  first  time  been  made  by  Wilfrith,  and  the  Church, 
as  we  have  seen,  cordially  upheld  the  resistance 
offered  by  kings  and  nobles  to  the  Pope's  attempts  to 


32     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

set  aside  the  decision  of  national  councils.  The  com- 
promise that  was  at  last  effected  was  not  a  papal 
triumph.  Nevertheless  the  authority  of  the  Pope 
was  generally  acknowledged,  and  the  most  powerful 
kings  thought  it  needful  to  obtain  the  sanction  of 
Rome  for  ecclesiastical  changes,  such  as  the  erection 
and  suppression  of  the  Mercian  archbishopric.  More- 
over, Englishmen  venerated  Rome  as  the  Apostolic 
See  and  the  mother  of  Catholic  Christendom,  and 
made  frequent  pilgrimages  thither.  First,  ecclesiastics 
journeyed  to  Rome  either  for  purposes  of  business 
or  devotion.  Then,  towards  the  end  of  the  seventh 
century,  Ceadwalla,  a  West  Saxon  king,  went  thither 
to  receive  baptism,  praying  that  he  might  die  as 
soon  as  he  was  cleansed  from  his  sins,  and  his  prayer 
was  granted.  His  example  was  followed  by  other 
kings,  and  among  them  by  his  successor,  Ini.  Crowds 
of  persons  of  both  sexes  and  every  condition  now  went 
on  pilgrimage.  In  Offa's  time  there  were  special 
buildings  at  Rome  called  the  "  Saxon  School "  for  the 
accommodation  of  English  pilgrims,  and  the  Mercian 
king  obtained  a  promise  from  Charles  the  Great  that 
they  should  be  free  of  toll  in  passing  through  his 
dominions. 

The  missionary  labours  of  Willibrord,  of  Winfrith 

or  Boniface,  and  other  Englishmen  brought  our  Charch 

into  close  relationship  with  other  Churches 

The  Church  ^ 

and  Western     01    Westem    Europe,   for   a   constant  corre- 

Christendom.  . 

spondence  was  kept  up  between  the  mis- 
sionaries and  their  brethren  at  home.  The  con- 
nexion between  the  English  and  Frankish  Chui'ches 
was  strengthened  by  the  residence  of  Alcuin  at  the 


Or  ga  niza  tio.v.  3  3 

court  of  Charles  the  Great,  and  by  the  desire  of  Offa  to 
establish  friendly  relations  with  the  Frankish  monarch. 
Alcuin  obtained  a  letter  from  the  kings  and  bishops  of 
England ,  ao-reeinj:'  with  the  condemnation  which  Charles 
pronounced  against  the  decree  of  the  Second  Council 
of  Nice,  re-establishing  the  worship  of  images  in  the 
Eastern  Church,  and  English  bishops  attended  the 
council  Charles  held  at  Frankfort,  where  the  action  of 
the  Greeks  and  the  opinions  of  certain  Adoptionist 
heretics  were  condemned.  At  the  close  of  the  eighth 
century  our  Church  was  highly  esteemed  throughout 
Western  Christendom,  and  this  was  due  both  to  the 
noble  work  accomplished  by  English  missionaries  and 
to  the  literary  gi-eatness  of  Northumbria,  the  home  of 
Alcuin. 


C.  II. 


(     34     ) 


CHAPTER  III. 

RUIN  AND  REVIVAL. 

RUIN  OF  NORTHUMBRIA — ^THELWULF'S  PILGRIMAGE — DANISH 
INVASIONS  OF  SOUTHERN  ENGLAND  ;  THE  PEACE  OP  WED- 
MORE — Alfred's  work — character   of  the   church   in 

THE  tenth  century — REORGANIZATION — REVIVAL— ODA — 
DUNSTAN— SECULARS  AND  REGULARS — DUNSTAN's  ECCLE- 
SIASTICAL ADMINISTRATION — CORONATIONS — DUNSTAN'S  LAST 
DATS — JiLFRIC  THE   GRAMMARIAN. 

Before  tlie  end  of  the  eiglith  century  the  Nortlimen 
laid  waste  Lindisfarne,  Jarrow,  and  Wearmouth.  Civil 
o  .     fXT  disorder,  however,  was  well  nigh  as  fatal 

Kum  of  r\or-  '  '  " 

tiiumbria.  |.q  ^-^q  Church  in  the  north  as  the  ravages 

of  the  heathen.  In  808  Archbishop  Eanbald  joined 
the  Mercian  king,  Cenwulf,  in  dethroning  Eardulf  of 
Northumbria.  Eardulf  sought  help  from  the  Emperor, 
Charles  the  Great,  and  laid  his  case  before  Leo  III. 
A  papal  legate  and  an  imperial  messenger  were  sent 
to  England  to  summon  Eanbald  to  appear  either  before 
the  Pope  or  the  Emperor.  He  defended  himself  by 
letter ;  his  defence  was  pronounced  unsatisfactory,  and 
the  Emperor  procured  the  restoration  of  the  king.  For 
the  next  sixty  years  anarchy  and  violence  prevailed 
in  the  north.  Then  the  Scandinavian  pirates  invaded 
the  country  and  overthrew  York.      Nine  years  later 


Ruin  and  Revival.  35 

Halfdene  desolated  Bernicia,  so  that  not  a  church  was 
left  standing  between  the  Tweed  and  the  Tyne.  The 
bishop  of  Lindisftirne  and  his  monks  fled  from  their 
home,  carrying  with  them  tlio  bones  of  St.  Cuthberht. 
They  found  shelter  at  Chestcr-le-Street,  which  for 
about  a  century  became  the  see  of  the  Bernician 
bishopric.  Northumbria  became  a  Danish  province, 
and  when  it  was  again  brought  under  the  dominion  of 
an  English  king  it  had  fallen  far  behind  the  rest  of  the 
country  in  ecclesiastical  and  intellectual  matters.  The 
Danish  conquest  had  a  marked  effect  upon  the  position 
of  tho  northern  metropolitan.  Cut  off  from  communi- 
cation with  tho  rest  of  England,  tho  Northumbrians 
became  almost  a  distinct  nation.  The  extinction  of 
the  native  kingship  and  a  long  series  of  revolutions 
threw  political  power  into  the  hands  of  the  archbishops, 
and  when  the  Church  of  York  again  emerges  from 
obscurity  we  find  them  holding  a  kind  of  national 
headship.  Their  position  was  magnified  by  isolation. 
While  the  sees  of  Hexham  and  Withern  had  been 
overthrown,  and  the  Church  of  Lindisfarne  was  in 
exile,  the  see  of  York  remained  to  attract  the  sym- 
pathies and,  in  more  than  one  instance,  direct  the 
action,  of  the  northern  people. 

During  the  attacks  of  the  pirates  on  the  south  of 
England  the  alliance  between  the  Church  and  the 
West  Saxon  throne  was  strengthened  by  tho  common 
danger,  and  the  bishops  appear  as  patriots  and  states- 
men. yEthelwnlf  was  supported  in  his  struggles  with 
tho  Danes  by  Swithun,  bishop  of  Winchester,  and 
Ealhstan,  bishop  of  Sherborne.  Ealhstan  was  rich,  and 
used  his  wealth  for  the  defence  of  the  kinirdom  ;  ho 


0 


6     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  A  ges. 


equipped  armies,  joined  in  leading  tliem  in  battle,  and 
in  845,  in  conjunction  with  the  ealdormen  of  Somerset 
and  Dorset,  headed  the  forces  of  his  bishopric,  and 
inflicted  a  severe  defeat  upon  the  invaders  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Parret.  The  resistance  the  Danes  met 
with  from  the  West  Saxons,  which  was  largely  due 
to  the  exertions  of  these  bishops,  delivered  Wessex 
from  invasion  for  twenty  years.  Meanwhile  Lindsey 
and  East  Anglia  were  ravaged,  Canterbury  was  twice 
sacked,  and  London  was  takeu  by  storm.  Everywhere 
the  heathens  showed  special  hatred  to  the  monks  and 
clergy  ;  monasteries  and  churches  were  sacked  and 
burnt,  and  priests  were  slain  with  the  sword.  These 
calamities  were  regarded  as  Divine  judgments,  and 
when  iEthelwulf  had  checked  the  invaders  he  made 
a  pilgrimage  to  Rome.  Before  he  left,  and  after  his 
return,  he  made  a  series  of  donations,  which  have  been 
^thciwuif«pii-  described  as  conveying  a  tenth  part  of  his 
gri.uage,  855.  ^^^  estatcs  to  ecclesiastical  bodies,  and  to 
various  thegns,  as  freeing  a  tenth  part  of  the  folcland 
from  all  burdens  except  the  three  that  fell  on  all  lands 
alike,  and  as  charging  every  ten  hides  of  his  land  with 
the  support  of  a  poor  man.  Though  these  grants  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  institution  of  tithes,  they  illus- 
trate the  sacredness  that  was  attached  to  the  tenth 
portion  of  property,  ^thelwulf  carried  rich  gifts  to 
Benedict  III.,  and  while  he  was  at  Eome  rebuilt  the 
"  Saxon  School."  This  institution  was  supported  by 
a  yearly  contribution  from  England,  which  appears  to 
have  been  the  origin  of  Peter's  pence.  The  king  pro- 
bably found  his  youngest  son  Alfred  at  Rome,  for  he 
had  sent  him  to  Leo  IV.  two  years  before.     Leo  con- 


Ruin  AND  Revival.  37 

firmed  the  cliilJ,  and  anointed  him  as  king.  The 
Pope  did  not,  of  course,  pretend  to  dispose  of  the 
English  crown,  and  probably  only  meant  to  consecrate 
Alfred  to  any  kingship  to  which  his  father  as  head- 
king  might  appoint  him. 

By  870  the  whole  of  the  north  and  east  of  England 
had  been  conquered  by  the  Danes.  In  that  year 
Eadmund,  the  East  Anglian  king,  went  out  to  battle 
against  them,  and  was  defeated  and  taken  prisoner. 
His  captors  offered  to  spare  his  life  and  restore  his 
kingdom  to  him,  if  he  would  deny  Christ  and  reign 
under  their  orders.  When  he  refused  their  offers,  they 
tied  him  to  a  tree,  shot  at  him  with  arrows,  and  finally 
cut  off  his  head.  In  later  days  the  Abbey  of  St. 
Edmund's  Bury  was  named  after  the  martyred  king. 
AVessex  well  nigh  shared  the  fate  of  the  rest  of  the 
country  ;  it  was  saved  by  the  skill  and  wisdom  of 
Alfred.  Through  all  the  bitter  struggle  the  Church 
vigorously  upheld  the  national  cause ;  a  bishop  of 
Elmham  fell  fighting  against  the  heathen  host  in  East 
Anglia,  and  a  bishop  of  Sherborne  in  Wessex.  At 
last  Alfred  inflicted  a  crushing  defeat  upon  the  Danish 
king,  Guthorm,  at  Edington,  and  as  the  price  of  peace 
Guthorm  promised  to  quit  Wessex  and  accepted  Chris- 
Treaty  of  Wed-  tianity.  He  was  baptized  at  Wedmore,  in 
more,  878.  Somerset,  and  a  treaty  was  made  by  which 

England  was  divided  into  two  parts.  ^Yessex  was 
freed  from  the  danger  of  conquest,  and  Alfred's  imme- 
diate dominions  were  increased,  while  the  north  and 
east  remained  under  the  Danes.  Guthorm  owned  the 
supremacy  of  the  West  Saxon  king  in  East  Anglia ; 
his  people  became  Christians,  and  in  the  other  Danish 


38     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

districts  the  invaders  for  tlie  most  part  also  accepted 
Christianity  when  they  became  settled  in  the  land. 

The  Danish  wars  had  a  disastrous  effect  on  religion, 
morality,  and  learning.  The  monastic  congregations 
were  scattered,  and  men  did  not  care  to 
become  monks.  Pure  Benedictinism  was 
as  yet  unknown  in  England,  and  a  laxer  system  seems 
to  have  prevailed.  This  system,  such  as  it  was, 
now  gave  way  altogether,  and  the  monasteries  that 
survived  the  ravages  of  the  Danes  fell  into  the 
hands  of  secular  clergy,  who  enjoyed  their  estates 
without  conforming  to  any  rule,  and  who  were  gene- 
rally married.  The  collapse  of  monasticism  entailed 
the  decay  of  learning,  for  the  monastic  schools  were 
generally  closed.  Nor  were  the  parish  priests  capable 
of  supplying  the  place  of  the  monks  as  teachers  of 
the  people.  The  drain  of  men  entailed  by  the  war 
made  it  necessary  to  confer  the  priesthood  on  many 
who  were  ignorant  and  otherwise  unfit  for  full  orders. 
And  it  is  probable  that  the  losses  which  the  Church 
sustained  during  the  war  were  not  confined  to  monastic 
bodies,  and  that  the  clergy  suffered  considerably.  A 
general  decline  in  their  character  and  efficiency  natu- 
rally followed ;  and  Alfred  records  how  England  had 
changed  in  this  respect  even  within  his  own  memory. 
He  remembered  the  time  when  the  "  sacred  orders 
were  zealous  in  teaching  and  learning,  and  in  all  the 
services  they  owed  to  God,  and  how  foreigners  hied 
to  this  land  for  wisdom  and  lore ; "  but  now,  he  says, 
"  we  should  have  to  get  them  from  abroad."  For 
"  there  were  very  few  on  this  side  Humber  who  could 
understand    their   rituals   in   English,    or    translate    a 


Ruin  and  Revival.  39 

letter   from    Latin    into    English,    and    not   many  Le- 
yond  Humber." 

There  was  little  difference  between  the  priest 
and  his  people ;  the  clergy  shared  largely  in  the 
national  liabit  of  excessive  drinking,  and  many  priests 
were  married.  Among  the  laity  morality  was  at  a 
low  ebb ;  the  marriage  tie  was  lightly  regarded, 
and  there  was  a  general  return  to  the  laxity  and 
vices  of  paganism.  Heathen  customs  gathered  fresh 
strength,  and  women  dealt  in  enchantments  and  called 
up  ghostly  forms.  Alfred  determined  to  save  his 
people  from  barbarism ;  he  set  himself  to  be  their 
teacher,  and  sought  for  others  to  help  in  his  work. 
From  the  English  part  of  Mercia,  where  learning  was 
more  advanced  than  in  Wessex,  he  brought  Plegmund, 
who  was  afterwards  chosen  archbishop,  and  other 
clerks ;  Bishop  Asser  came  to  him  from  Wales ;  from 
beyond  sea,  Grimbold,  a  monk  of  St.  Bertin's,  and 
John  from  the  old  Saxon  laud.  He  desired  that 
every  youth  whose  parents  could  afford  it  should  be 
sent  to  school  till  he  could  read  English  well,  and 
those  who  hoped  for  promotion  till  they  could  read 
Latin.  Accordingly,  he  set  up  a  school  for  young 
nobles  in  his  palace,  and  made  education  the  pro- 
minent feature  in  a  monastery  he  founded  at  Athel- 
ney.  He  translated  into  English  such  books  as  he 
thought  most  needful  for  his  people  to  read,  and  pro- 
bably began  the  national  record  called  the  "Anglo- 
Saxon  Chronicle  "  in  the  form  we  now  have  it.  The 
care  with  which  he  fostered  vernacular  literature  led 
to  the  use  of  English  in  religious  teaching,  and  to  the 
composition  of  books  of  homilies  in  that   language. 


40     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  A  ges. 

His  code  of  laws,  wliicli  consists  of  a  selection  from 
earlier  laws  and  the  decrees  of  synods,  contains  many 
ecclesiastical  provisions ;  it  treats  religion  as  the  foun- 
dation of  civil  law,  and  begins  with  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments and  an  account  of  the  precepts  of  Moses. 
As  the  ovei'-lord  of  Guthorm,  he  joined  him  in  pub- 
lishing a  special  code  for  the  people  of  East  Anglia, 
by  which  apostasy  was  declared  a  crime,  negligent 
priests  were  to  be  fined,  the  payment  of  Peter's  pence 
was  commanded,  and  the  practice  of  heathen  rites  was 
forbidden.  Alfred  brought  his  kingdom  into  renewed 
relations  with  Rome,  for  jeox  after  year  he  sent  thither 
alms  from  himself  and  his  people,  probably  re-estab- 
lishing the  payment  of  Peter's  pence,  which  had  been 
interrupted  during  the  period  of  invasion. 

An  increased  spirit  of  worldliness  in  the  Church 
was  one  of  the  fruits  of  the  Danish  invasions.  Alfred 
Character  of  endeavourcd  to  check  this  spirit,  and  bade 
thetinTu^'^  his  bishops  disengage  themselves  from 
century.  secular    matters    and    give    themselves    to 

wisdom.  Nevertheless  the  very  work  that  he  and  his 
immediate  successors  did  for  the  Church  tended  to 
strengthen  its  connexion  with  worldly  affairs.  When 
it  seemed  to  have  lost  the  power  of  spontaneous  revival, 
new  energy  was  imparted  to  it  by  the  action  of  the 
Crown.  Its  revival  was  in  the  first  instance  due  to 
external  interference,  and  this  naturally  led  to  the 
gradual  discontinuance  of  ecclesiastical  councils.  No 
decline  in  influence  or  activity  is  implied  by  this 
change.  Legislation  was  frequent,  but  it  either  took 
the  form  of  canons  put  forth  by  bishops  or  was  part 
of  the  work  of  the   witan.       The   relations   between 


RuLW  AND  Revival.  41 

the  Church  and  tho  State  grew  closer.  Some 
witenageniuts  almost  bore  the  character  of  Church 
councils,  were  largely  attended  by  abbots  as  well  as 
bishops,  and  were  mainly  concerned  with  ecclesiastical 
business.  During  the  tenth  century  the  administra- 
tion of  the  kingdom  was  largely  carried  on  by  church- 
men ;  and  though  the  statesmen-bishops  did  not,  as 
at  a  later  period,  subordinate  their  sacred  duties  to 
their  secular  employments,  bishoprics  came  to  be  re- 
garded in  a  secular  spirit,  and  plurality  was  practised. 
While  it  is  evident  that  the  spiritual  jurisdiction  of  the 
bishops  was  in  no  degree  diminished,  and,  indeed,  that 
it  must  have  gained  by  the  exercise  of  judicial  func- 
tions by  archdeacons,  the  clergy,  besides  being  under 
the  bishop's  law,  were  subject  to  the  general  police 
arrangements  of  the  kingdom,  and  were  equally  with 
laymen  bound  to  provide  sureties  for  their  orderly 
behaviour.  In  every  respect  the  Church  had  a 
national  character  ;  its  development  was  closely  con- 
nected with  the  national  progress ;  its  bishops  were 
national  officers ;  its  laws  were  decreed  in  the  national 
assembly,  and  it  was  free  from  papal  interference  ;  for 
throughout  the  tenth  centuiy  no  appeals  were  carried 
to  Rome,  and  no  legate  appears  to  have  set  foot  in 
the  country. 

Several  changes   took   place   in   the   episcopate   of 

the  southern  province  during  the  period  of  invasion. 

Dunwich    ceased    to    have    a    bishop,    and 

Reorganization.  „,      ,  ,  , 

Jtiimham,  though  the  succession  there  was 
broken,  became  the  only  East  Anglian  see.  Little 
more  is  heard  of  the  bishopric  of  Lindsey,  and  the 
bishop  of  Leicester  moved  his  see  to  the  Oxfordshire 


42     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

Dorcliester,  so  as  to  be  within  reacli  of  West  Saxon 
help.  On  the  other  hand,  the  renewed  energy  of  the 
Church  in  Wessex  led  to  an  extension  of  the  epis- 
copate south  of  the  Thames.  In  909  the  sees  of 
Winchester,  Sherborne,  and  South  Saxon  Selsey  all 
happened  to  be  vacant,  and,  according  to  a  story  that 
must  certainly  be  rejected  as  it  stands,  Pope  Eormosus, 
who  was  then  dead,  reproached  King  Eadward  the  Elder 
for  his  neglect  in  the  matter.  Eadward  had  a  good 
adviser  in  Archbishop  Plegmund ;  with  the  consent  of 
his  witan,  he  separated  Wiltshire  and  Berkshire  from 
the  see  of  Winchester,  and  formed  them  into  the  new 
diocese  of  Ramsbury,  and  further  created  two  other 
new  bishoprics  for  Somerset  and  Devon,  placing  the 
sees  at  Wells  and  Crediton.  Five  West  Saxon  bishops, 
together  with  two  for  Selsey  and  Dorchester,  were,  it 
is  said,  consecrated  at  once.  The  extension  of  the 
power  of  the  English  king  brought  with  it  an  exten- 
sion of  the  power  of  the  Church.  South  Wales  owned 
the  supremacy  of  Alfred,  and  accordingly  South  Welsh 
bishops  received  consecration  at  Canterbury  and  pro- 
fessed obedience  to  Archbishop  ^thelred.  Eadward's 
victories  in  East  Anglia  were  followed  by  the  repub- 
lication of  the  laws  of  Alfred  and  Guthorm,  and  the 
diocesan  system  appears  to  have  been  gradually  re- 
stored in  Mercia.  Eadward's  son,  ^thelstan,  an- 
nexed Cornwall,  the  land  of  the  West  Welsh,  and 
this  addition  to  the  English  kingdom  was  added  to 
the  province  of  Canterbury  ;  for  Cornwall  was  made  an 
English  diocese,  and  its  see  was  placed  at  St.  German's, 
or  Bodmin.  Lastly,  the  conquest  of  Northumbria  by 
.^thelstan,   who   put   the   Danish  prince  Guthred   to 


Ruin  AND  Revival.  43 

flight  and  took  possession  of  York,  is  marked  ecclesi- 
astically by  liis  appointment  of  Wulfstan  to  the  arch- 
bishopric. Throughout  ^thelstan's  reign  the  influence 
of  churchmen  is  clearly  apparent.  His  ecclesiastical 
laws,  enacted  along  with  others  on  secular  matters  in 
a  witenagemot  at  Greatley,  near  Andover,  for  the 
Mercian  shires,  and  republished  elsewhere  for  other 
parts  of  the  kingdom,  were  made  by  the  advice  of 
Archbishop  Wulfhelm  and  other  bishops.  Tithes  both 
of  animals  and  fruits  were  to  be  paid  from  the  king's 
lauds,  and  his  reeves  and  ealdormen  were  bidden  to 
charge  those  subject  to  them  to  make  like  payments : 
the  part  of  the  Church  in  secular  jurisdiction  was  con- 
firmed by  the  regulation  of  ordeals  by  the  hallowed 
bread  (or  "  housel "),  by  water,  and  by  hot  iron,  and 
fresh  enactments  were  made  against  heathen  practices. 
Although  Alfred  and  his  immediate  successors  did 
much  for  the  Church,  especially  as  regards  its  external 
Ecclesiastical  position,  the  ecclesiastical  revival  that  dis- 
revivai.  tiuguished  the   latter  part   of  the  century 

was  primarily  effected  by  means  of  a  monastic  refor- 
mation. This  reformation  was  necessary  for  the  sal- 
vation of  society ;  for  as  long  as  monks  and  nuns 
remained  unworthy  of  their  vocation,  the  simple  priest 
could  never  have  been  brought  to  live  as  he  was  bound 
to  do ;  and  as  long  as  his  life  was  no  higher  or  purer 
than  the  lives  of  his  flock,  there  was  no  means  of 
elevating  the  people.  While  most  of  those  who  were 
foremost  in  the  work  of  revival  were  of  purely  English 
descent,  the  bracing  influence  of  the  Danish  coloniza- 
tion extended  to  the  area  of  ecclesiastical  as  well  as 
of  civil  life.      As  soon  as  a  Dane  was  converted  he 


44     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

became  a  member  of  the  English  Church,  and  the 
Chm'ch  thus  became  a  powerful  instrument  in  pro- 
moting the  amalgamation  of  the  two  peoples.  She 
reaped  her  reward  in  gaining  the  services  of  the 
Danish  Oda  and  his  nephew  Oswald.  At  the  same 
time,  the  reformers  of  this  age,  though  aided  in  their 
work  by  the  Crown,  would  not  have  attained  their 
measure  of  success  had  it  not  been  for  the  teaching 
and  encouragement  they  received  from  abroad.  This 
connexion  between  our  Church  and  the  monasteries 
of  the  Continent  was  largely  due  to  the  foreign  alli- 
ances formed  by  the  house  of  Ecgberht.  Of  late  years 
Alfred  had  given  one  of  his  daughters  in  marriage  to 
a  count  of  Flanders,  and  ^thelstan  had  married  his 
sisters  to  Otto  of  Germany,  to  Charles,  the  king  of  the 
"West  Franks,  and  other  princes.  Accordingly,  the 
monasteries  of  Northern  France  and  Flanders  became 
the  patterns  by  which  our  reformers  worked ;  their 
congregations  took  deep  interest  in  the  affairs  of  our 
Church,  received  liberal  aid  from  England,  and  held 
our  noblest  churchmen  in  high  esteem. 

Oda,  the  son  of  one  of  the  fierce  band  of  Ivar,  was 
converted  to  Christianity  in  early  life,  and  was  in  con- 
Aroiibishop  sequcnco  driven  from  his  father's  house. 
Oda,  942-959-  He  entered  the  household  of  an  English 
thegn,  who  had  him  taught  Latin,  and,  it  is  said, 
Greek  also,  persuaded  him  to  be  ordained,  and  took 
him  to  Rome.  He  became  one  of  King  Eadward's 
clerks,  and  ^thelstan  made  him  bishop  of  Ramsbury 
and  employed  him  in  affairs  of  state.  In  937  Oda, 
in  company  with  two  other  bishops,  was  present  at 
the   battle    of   Bruuanburh,   and    did    the   king    good 


R uiN  AX D  Revival.  45 

service  eitlier  by  miraculously  obtaining  a  new  sword 
for  him  when  he  had  broken  his  own,  or  by  handing 
him  a  weapon  as  another  warrior  might  have  done. 
Eadmund,  who,  like  his  brother  iEthelstan,  chose  his 
ministers  among  ecclesiastics,  offered  him  the  arch- 
bishopric of  Canterbury.  Like  his  successor,  Thomas, 
in  later  days,  Oda  was  by  nature  a  statesman  and  a 
soldier  rather  than  a  priest,  but,  like  him,  he  deter- 
mined when  he  accepted  the  primacy  to  act  up  to  the 
hiirhest  standard  of  ecclesiastical  life.  He  declared 
that  no  one  ought  to  be  archbishop  who  was  not  a 
monk,  and  accordingly  received  the  monastic  habit 
from  the  famous  abbey  of  Fleury.  As  archbishop,  he 
souf^ht  to  brine:  about  a  reformation  of  morals.  In 
a  pastoral  letter  he  urged  all  spiritual  persons  to 
purity  of  life  ;  he  insisted  on  the  sanctity  of  mar- 
riage, and  in  a  witenagemot  held  at  London  in  944 
took  part  in  making  laws  providing  for  the  protection, 
maintenance,  and  dower  of  wives,  and  ordering  that 
all  marriages  should  be  solemnized  by  a  priest,  and 
that  care  should  be  taken  that  there  was  no  bar  of 
consanguinity.  He  probably  found  an  efficient  ally  in 
yElfheah,  or  Elphcge,  the  Bald,  bishop  of  Winchester, 
who  appears  to  have  laboured  to  bring  about  a  faith- 
ful discharge  of  monastic  vows. 

The  work  of  Oda  is  overshadowed  by  that  of  Dun- 
stan,  the  kinsman  and  disciple  of  Bishop  /Elfheah. 
Dunstan  was  a  West  Saxon,  and  was  brought 
up  partly  at  Glastonbury  and  partly  at  the 
court  of  yEthelstan,  for  he  was  connected  with  the  royal 
house.  With  a  highly  strung  and  imaginative  nature 
he  combined  much  practical  wisdom  and  determination 


46     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  A  ges. 

of  character.  Full  of  piety,  skilled  in  music  and  the 
other  arts,  a  cunning  craftsman,  and  endued  with  the 
power  of  winning  the  love  and  influencing  the  conduct 
of  others,  he  was  at  an  early  age  one  of  the  counsellors 
of  Eadmund.  When  he  was  about  twenty-one  the 
king  made  him  abbot  of  Glastonbury.  The  abbey 
had  fallen  into  decay,  and  he  at  once  began  to  restore 
and  reform  it,  though  not  on  the  Benedictine  model. 
During  the  reign  of  Eadred  he  held  the  office  of  royal 
treasurer.  The  king  was  sickly,  and  the  work  of 
government  was  carried  on  mainly  by  Dunstan  and  the 
queen-mother.  Eadred  wished  him  to  accept  a  bishopric, 
but  he  refused,  for  he  would  not  leave  the  king's  service, 
and  he  evidently  considered  that  a  bishopric  should  not 
be  treated  as  a  mere  provision  for  an  officer  of  state. 
As  the  king's  chief  minister,  he  must  have  been  largely 
concerned  in  the  reduction  of  the  north,  and  it  may  be 
inferred,  from  the  policy  pursued  with  regard  to  the 
archbishop  of  York,  that  he  was  by  no  means  an 
asserter  of  clerical  immunity.  Archbishop  Wulfstan 
had  been  foremost  in  the  revolt  of  Northumbria  from 
the  West  Saxon  king.  At  last  Eadred  caught  him  and 
put  him  in  prison ;  and  though,  after  a  while,  he  was 
released  and  again  acted  as  bishop,  he  was  not  allowed 
to  return  to  his  province. 

Soon  after  the  accession  of  Eadwig,  in  956,  Dunstan 
incurred  the  wrath  of  a  powerful  enemy.  At  his  con- 
Histanish-  secration  feast  the  boy-king  left  the  hall 
ment,  956.  f^j,  ^|^q  society  of  a  young  lady  named 
yElfgifu  and  her  mother,  iEthelgifu,  who  wished  to 
make  a  match  between  him  and  her  daughter.  The 
great  men  were  wroth  at  this  slight  on  themselves  and 


R uiN  AND  Revival.  47 

on  tlio  kingly  office,  and  sent  Dunstan  to  bring  Eadwig 
back  to  tlio  hall.  Now  there  was  some  connexion 
between  Eadwig  and  iElfgil'u  that  would  have  made 
their  marriage  unlawful,  and  when  Dunstan  saw  them 
together  his  zeal  for  purity  was  aroused  ;  hot  words 
passed  between  him  and  the  girl's  mother,  and  he 
forced  the  king  to  return  to  the  banquet.  In  revenge 
zEthelgifu  procured  his  banishment.  He  found  shelter 
in  the  abbey  of  St.  Peter  at  Ghent,  where  for  the  first 
time  he  saw  the  rule  of  St.  Benedict  fully  carried  out. 
While  he  was  there,  the  people  of  the  north  revolted 
from  Eadwig,  and  chose  his  younger  brother  Eadgar  as 
king.  Oda  took  advantage  of  this  revolt  to  separate 
Eadwig  from  ^Elfgifu,  whom  he  had  by  this  time 
married,  and  it  is  said  that  either  she  or  her  mother — 
the  story  is  late  and  uncertain — was  cruelly  slain  by 
tlie  insurgents.  This  revolt  of  England  north  of  the 
Thames  and  the  division  of  the  kingdom  have  little 
or  no  ecclesiastical  significance,  for  Oda  continued 
Eadwig's  subject  until  his  death.  Eadgar,  the  "king 
of  the  Mercians,"  called  Dunstan  back  to  England,  and 
he  was  raised  to  the  episcopate.  The  circumstances  of 
his  elevation  illustrate  the  unsettled  state  of  the  custom 
as  regards  episcopal  elections.  Although  no  see  was 
vacant,  the  witan  decreed  that  he  should  be  made 
bishop,  and  he  appears  to  have  been  consecrated  accord- 
ingly. Shortly  afterwards  the  bishop  of  Worcester 
died,  and  Dunstan  was  appointed  his  successor.  A 
nmiRtan  aroh.  ^©^  mouths  later  he  received  the  bishopric 
bishop,  960-988.  Qf  London,  which  he  held  along  with  Wor- 
cester. In  959  Eadwig  died,  and  Eadgar  became 
king  south  of  the  Thames.      Then  Brithelra,  bishop  of 


48     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  A  ges. 

Wells,  who  had  been  appointed  archbishop  by  Eadwig, 
was  sent  back  to  his  old  diocese,  and  by  the  counsel  of 
the  witan  Dunstan  was  chosen  archbishop  in  his  stead. 
During  the  reign  of  Eadgar  the  secular  clergy  were 
driven  out  of  many  of  the  monasteries  south  of  the 
Seculars  and  Humber,  and  their  places  were  taken  by 
regulars.  mouks  who  Hvcd  accopdiug  to   the  rule  of 

St.  Benedict.  The  chief  movers  in  this  change  were 
-ZEthelwold,  who,  at  Dunstan's  request,  was  made  bishop 
of  Winchester ;  Oswald,  bishop  of  Worcester,  who  had 
been  a  monk  of  Fleury,  and  had  learnt  the  Benedictine 
rule  there ;  and  the  king  himself.  Dunstan,  though 
he  approved  of  the  movement,  did  not  take  any  active 
part  in  it,  and  did  not  disturb  the  secular  canons  of 
his  own  church.  Pope  John  XIII.  wrote  to  Eadgar, 
expressing  his  pleasure  at  his  zeal  and  authorising  the 
proceedings  of  -^thelwold.  In  the  north  no  such 
change  was  made,  and  though  Oswald  was  elected  arch- 
bishop of  York  in  9/2,  he  did  not  attempt  to  turn 
out  the  clerks  there.  While  the  seculars  who  were 
expelled  from  the  monastic  churches  were,  as  a  rule, 
married  men,  no  general  persecution  of  the  married 
clergy  took  place.  It  was  unlawful  for  a  man  in  the 
higher  orders  to  marry,  and  if  a  married  man  took 
these  orders,  he  was  bound  to  put  away  his  wife.  But 
the  marriage  of  the  clergy  prevailed  too  widely  to  be 
attacked  with  vigour  or  success,  and  though  celibacy 
was  the  rule  of  the  Church,  no  effectual  measures  were 
taken  to  enforce  it.  The  only  penalty  pronounced 
against  the  married  priest  in  the  canons  for  which 
Dunstan  is  responsible  is,  that  he  should  lose  the  pri- 
vilege of  his  order ;  he  ceased  to  be  of  "  thegn-right 


R  UlN  AND  Re  VI VAL.  49 

worthy,"  and  Lad  no  higher  legal  status  than  that  of  a 
layman  of  equal  birth. 

The    general   character   of   Dunstan's    ecclesiastical 

administration   may  be   gathered    from   the   laws   and 

canons  of  Eadgar's  reign.     The  laws  mark 

Dunstan's  pocle-  .  i         i  •  r>       •   i  c 

.siasticui  admiui-  a  step  in  the  lustory  01  tithes,  for  they 
contain  the  first  provision  for  enforcing 
payment  by  legal  process,  by  the  joint  action  of  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  officers,  and  they  declare  the  right  of 
the  parish  priest  in  certain  cases  to  a  portion  of  the 
l)ayment  made  by  the  landowner,  independently  of  any 
distribution  by  the  bishop.  When  a  thegu  had  on  his 
estate  of  inheritance  a  church  with  a  burying-ground, 
it  was  ordered  that  he  should  give  one-third  to  the 
priest ;  if  his  church  had  no  burying-ground,  he  might 
give  the  priest  what  he  pleased.  The  payment  of 
Peter's  pence  is  also  commanded.  It  is  evident  from 
the  canons  that  Dunstan  endeavoured  to  make  the 
clergy  the  educators  of  the  people ;  priests  were  to 
teach  each  his  own  scholars,  and  not  take  away  the 
scholars  of  others ;  they  were  to  learn  handicrafts  and 
instruct  their  people  in  them,  and  to  preach  a  sermon 
every  Sunday.  The  laity  were  to  avoid  concubinage 
and  practise  lawful  marriage.  And  both  in  continence, 
and  in  every  other  respect,  the  necessity  of  raising  the 
clergy  to  a  higher  level  of  life  than  that  of  the  society 
round  them  was  fully  recognized  j  they  were  not  to 
hunt,  hawk,  play  at  dice,  or  engage  in  drinking-bouts, 
and  greater  attention  was  to  be  paid  to  ritual,  espe- 
cially in  celebrating  the  Eucharist.  While  they  were 
thus  to  be  brought,  as  regards  both  their  lives  and  the 
performance  of  their  duties,  to  a  deeper  sense  of  the  dig- 
C.  II.  D 


50     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

iiity  of  tlieir  calling,  tliey  were  socially  to  hold  a  liigli 
place;  a  priest  engaged  in  a  suit  with  a  thegn  was 
not  to  be  called  on  to  make  oath  until  the  thegn  had 
first  sworn,  and  the  quarrels  of  priests  were  to  be 
decided  by  a  bishop,  and  not  taken  before  a  secular 
judge.  In  these  and  other  efforts  to  raise  the  charac- 
ter and  position  of  the  clergy  Dunstan  did  not  de- 
sire to  make  the  Church  less  national,  or  to  separate 
her  ministers  from  the  life  of  the  nation  and  subject 
them  to  the  authority  of  Eome.  He  worked,  as  the 
spiritual  ruler  of  the  national  Church,  for  the  good  both 
of  the  Church  and  the  nation,  and  evidently  maintained 
an  independent  attitude  towards  the  Pope.  A  noble, 
whom  he  had  excommunicated  for  contracting  an  un- 
lawful marriage,  obtained  a  papal  mandate  ordering  the 
archbishop  to  absolve  him.  Dunstan  flatly  refused  to 
obey  the  order,  declaring  that  he  would  rather  suffer 
death  than  be  unfaithful  to  his  Lord. 

As    Eadgar's    chief   minister,    Dunstan    must   have 

had  a  large  share  in  establishing  the  order  and  good 

government  that  form  the  special  glories  of 

Coronations.  .  .  p  . 

the  reign,  and  the  wise  policy  of  non-inter- 
ference that  secured  the  loyalty  of  the  Danish  districts 
was  probably  due  as  much  to  him  as  to  the  king. 
Cnut  seems  to  have  recognized  what  he  had  done 
to  make  the  Danish  population  part  of  the  English 
people,  for  he  ordered  that  St.  Dunstan's  mass-day 
should  be  kept  by  all  as  a  solemn  feast.  Dunstan 
saw  the  fruit  of  his  political  labours.  It  has  been 
asserted  that  Eadgar's  coronation  at  Bath  was  con- 
nected with  a  penance  laid  upon  him  by  the  arch- 
bishop.      While    it    is    not    improbable    that    Dun- 


A'  UlN  AND  Re  VI VA L.  5  I 

Stan  imposed  a  penance  on  the  king  for  one  of  tlio 
sins  of  his  youth,  the  story  that  he  forbade  him  to 
wear  his  crown  for  seven  years  is  mere  legend.  The 
coronation  at  Bath,  which  was  performed  by  both 
archbishops,  with  all  the  bishops  assisting,  was  the 
solemn  declaration  that  all  the  peoples  of  England 
were  at  last  united  under  one  sovereign.  On  Eadgar's 
death  a  dispute  arose  as  to  the  succession.  Civil  war 
was  on  the  point  of  breaking  out  between  the  rival 
ealdormen  of  East  Anglia  and  Mercia ;  the  Mercian 
ealdorman  turned  the  monks  out  of  the  monasteries 
and  brought  the  seculars  back,  while  the  East  Anglian 
house,  which  had  ever  been  allied  with  Dunstan,  and 
had  forwarded  the  monastic  policy  of  Eadgar,  took  up 
the  cause  of  the  monks.  In  this  crisis  t^  two  arch- 
bishops preserved  the  peace  of  the  kingcrofu  ;  for  they 
declared  for  Eadward,  the  elder  son  of  Eadgar,  and 
placed  the  crown  on  his  head.  His  short  reign  was 
iilled  with  the  strife  between  the  seculars  and  regulars. 
After  his  murder  the  two  archbishops  joined  in  crown- 
ing yEthelred.  Although  the  increase  in  the  personal 
power  and  dignity  of  the  king  that  marked  the  age  is 
to  some  extent  to  be  connected  with  the  teaching  of 
the  Church  concerning  the  sanctity  of  his  person  and 
the  duty  of  obedience,  still  the  Church  did  not  favour 
absolutism.  Indeed,  in  the  rite  of  coronation,  which 
seems  to  have  been  brought  into  special  prominence 
during  this  period,  the  king  bound  himself  by  an  oath 
to  govern  well,  to  defend  the  Church  and  all  Chris- 
tian people,  to  forbid  robbery  and  unrighteous  doings 
to  all  orders,  and  to  enjoin  justice  and  mercy  in  all 
judgments.     At  iEthelred's  coronation  Dunstan,  after 


52     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

administering  this  oath,  set  forth  in  solemn  terms  the 
responsibilities  of  a  "  hallowed  "  king. 

Dunstan's  pre-eminent  position  in  the  State  magni- 
fied the  political  importance  of  his  see.  In  his  time 
Dunstan's  last  Kent  and  Sussex  ceased  to  be  ruled  by 
'^''^^'  their  own  ealdormen,  and  these  shires,  to- 

gether with  Surrey,  were  ruled  by  the  archbishop  with 
the  authority  of  an  ealdorman.  With  the  accession 
of  ^thelred,  Dunstan's  influence  in  the  State  seems  to 
have  ended.  During  the  early  years  of  his  reign  the 
king  was  led  by  unworthy  favourites  to  seize  on  some 
of  the  possessions  of  the  Church,  and  among  them  on 
some  lands  of  the  see  of  Rochester.  The  see  was  in 
a  special  manner  dependent  on  Canterbury,  and  the 
archbishop  u^y  almost  be  said  to  have  been  the  lord 
of  the  bishopric,  an  arrangement  that  evidently  sprang 
from  the  early  dependence  of  the  people  of  West  Kent 
on  the  king  of  the  Eastern  people.  Dunstan  threat- 
ened to  excommunicate  the  king,  ^thelred,  however, 
paid  no  heed  to  his  threats,  and  sent  his  troops  to 
ravage  the  lands  of  the  see  until  the  archbishop  was 
forced  to  bribe  him  to  recall  them  from  the  sieo^e 
of  Rochester. 

Although  he  was  no  longer  engaged  in  political 
matters,  Dunstan's  last  days  were  not  idly  spent.  As 
a  ruler  and  judge  he  was  diligent  and  able.  He 
took  much  delight  in  the  services  of  the  Church.  He 
corrected  and  illuminated  manuscripts,  and  practised  the 
crafts  in  which  he  excelled,  and  all  who  came  to  him 
for  knowledge  found  him  a  patient  and  gentle  teacher. 
On  Ascension  Day  988,  two  days  before  his  death, 
he  celebrated  the  Holy  Mysteries  and  preached  three 


R  U/X  A  XD  R  E  VI VAL.  5  3 

times.  Then  he  fell  sick,  and  on  the  following  Satur- 
day, after  commending  his  soul  to  the  prayers  of  the 
monks  of  his  house,  he  received  the  Sacrament,  and 
when  he  had  done  so  he  gave  thanks  to  God  and 
sang,  "  The  merciful  and  gracious  Lord  hath  so  done 
His  marvellous  acts  that  they  ought  to  be  had  in  re- 
membrance. He  hath  given  meat  unto  them  that  fear 
Him  " — and  with  these  words  he  fell  asleep. 

Alfred's  attempt  to  revive  leaiming  had  met  with 
little  success,  for  no  priest,  we  are  told,  wrote  or 
.Eif.ic  the  understood  Latin  before  the  days  of  ^thel- 
Gnuiim.iiian.  ^q\^  ^-^^  Duustau.  Now,  howcvcr,  along 
with  the  rule  of  St.  Benedict,  the  monastic  reformers 
brought  into  England  the  learning  of  the  Benedic- 
tine houses  of  the  Continent,  and  famous  schools  were 
established  at  Winchester,  Ramsey,  and  other  monas- 
teries. Xor  was  the  work  of  teaching  confined  to  the 
monks ;  for  all  parish  priests  were  also  schoolmasters, 
and  though  few  of  them  had  much  learning,  what  they 
taught  was  enough  to  show  a  boy  what  he  could  do  ; 
and  if  he  wanted  to  learn  more,  he  would  seek  admis- 
sion into  some  monastic  school.  Alfred  had  taught 
men  that  the  education  of  the  people  should  be  carried 
on  in  their  own  tongue,  and  this  lesson  was  learnt  and 
enforced  by  yElfric,  abbot  first  of  Ceme  about  1005, 
and  later  of  Ensham.  ^Ifric  took  much  interest  in 
education,  and  among  his  other  works  compiled  a 
Grammar,  which  he  dedicated  to  the  boys  of  Eng- 
land, and  from  which  he  is  generally  called  the  "  Gram- 
marian." He  saw  that  the  people  needed  religious 
teachinfT,  and  he  therefore  abridged  and  translated 
some  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  com- 


54     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

piled  two  books  of  homilies,  in  wliicli,  as  be  says,  lie  used 
"  no  obscure  words,  but  plain  Englisb,  that  might  come 
to  the  hearts  of  readers  and  hearers  to  their  souls' 
good."  These  homilies  and  some  of  his  other  writings, 
which  must  be  held  to  express  the  doctrines  of  the 
English  Church  in  his  day  and  on  to  the  time  of  the 
Norman  Conquest,  differ  in  some  respects  from  the 
teaching  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  They  contain  many 
declarations  against  transubstantiation.  "  The  lioly 
housel,"  iElfric  writes,  "  is  by  nature  corruptible  bread 
and  wine,  and  is  by  the  power  of  the  divine  word 
truly  Christ's  body  and  blood ;  not,  however,  bodily 
but  spiritually."  He  does  not  give  St.  Peter  the  pre- 
eminence among  the  apostles  that  is  ascribed  to  him 
by  Rome,  and  he  refuses  to  recognize  bishops  as  a 
distinct  order  in  the  Church.  He  wrote  canons  for 
the  bishop  of  Sherborne,  and  a  kind  of  charge  for  the 
archbishop  of  York.  These  direct  that,  according  to 
the  ancient  custom,  tithes  should  be  divided  between 
the  repair  of  the  church,  the  poor,  and  the  parish 
priest ;  and  they  also  show  that,  while  priests  were 
strongly  urged  to  put  away  their  wives,  no  means 
were  taken  to  compel  them  to  do  so.  The  renewed 
vigour  imparted  to  the  Church  by  the  monastic  revival 
was  further  manifested  by  a  fresh  outburst  of  mission- 
ary zeal ;  and  Sigeferth  of  York  and  other  priests  went 
forth  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  Norway  and  Sweden. 


(     55    ) 


CHAPTER  IV. 
EX  HA  U  ST  I  ON. 

Cn.\RACTERISTICS  OF  THE  PERIOD — RENEWED  SCANDINAVIAN  IN- 
VASIONS— LEGISLATION — ARCHBISHOP  ^LFHEAH  :  HIS  IIAR- 
TYRDOM — END  OF  THE  DANISH  WAR — CNCT  AND  THE  CHURCH 
— THE  king's  clerks— SPIRITUAL  DECADENCE — FOREIGNERS 
APPOINTED  TO  ENGLISH  SEES — EFFECT  OF  THESE  APPOINT- 
MENTS—PARTY STRUGGLES — EARL  HAROLD — PILGRIMAGES — 
A  LEQATINE  VISIT  —  A  SCHISMATICAL  ARCHBISHOP  —  THE 
PAPACY  AND  THE  CONQUEST — SUMMARY:  THE  NATIONAL 
CHARACTER  OP  THE  CHURCH  BEFORE  THE  NORMAN  CONQUEST. 

FiiOM  the  renewal  of  the  Danish  invasions  to  the  con- 
quest of  England   by  the  Normans  the  Church  threw 
itself  unreservedly  into  the   affairs    of  the 
(.f  the  period,     State,    and    almost    lost    all    separate    life. 
""^     '  While  churchmen  directed  the  councils  of 

the  nation,  the  conciliar  action  of  the  Church  ceased 
altogether.  Bishops  took  a  leading  part  in  politics, 
and  the  ablest  of  the  clergy  were  employed  in  secular 
administration.  The  Church  did  the  nation  good  ser- 
vice during  the  period  of  invasion,  and  finally  con- 
verted a  savage  conqueror  into  a  beneficent  king. 
Nevertheless  it  became  worldly,  and  though  it  exer- 
cised vast  power,  its  own  life  dwindled  and  sank  with 
the   life   of  the   nation  to  a  lower  level.     The  close 


56     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

union  between  the  Church  find  the  nation  strongly- 
affected  the  history  of  both  alike.  The  struggle 
against  the  foreigners  who  were  promoted  by  Eadward 
the  Confessor  to  offices  both  in  Church  and  State  has 
a  strongly  marked  ecclesiastical  side.  Foreign  bishops 
brought  the  Church  into  new  relations  with  the  papac}', 
and  impaired  its  independence  and  national  character. 
Still,  its  close  connexion  with  the  State  was  preserved, 
and  the  foreign  element  which  had  been  imported  into 
it  was  for  a  time  forcibly  crushed  by  the  national  party 
in  the  kingdom.  In  the  hope  of  bringing  the  Church 
into  subjection,  Rome  blessed  the  invasion  of  England, 
and  Church  and  State  alike  were  prostrated  at  the  feet  of 
the  Conqueror.  Yet  the  English  Church  survived  the 
Conquest,  and  became  a  powerful  agent  in  preserving 
the  national  life,  which  before  long  made  the  con- 
querors and  the  conquered  one  people. 

Dunstan's  retirement  was  soon  followed  by  renewed 
Scandinavian  invasions.      After  his  death  he  was  suc- 
ceeded at  Canterbury  by  Sigeric,  who  in  99 1 
Scandinavian    took  a  prominent  part  in  purchasing  peace 

invasions.  .  . 

from  the  Norwegian  host.  Although  this 
was  the  beginning  of  a  fatal  policy,  his  action,  taken 
by  itself,  seems  capable  of  defence.  It  was  a  moment 
of  pressing  danger,  and  there  was  no  force  ready  to 
meet  the  invader.  Sigeric  probably  hoped  that  if 
the  Norwegian  fleet  received  payment  it  would  de- 
fend the  land  from  other  piratical  attacks.  The  . 
invaders  of  England  found  shelter  in  the  harbours  of 
Normandy,  and  this  led  to  a  dispute  between  ^thel- 
red  and  the  Norman  duke.  War  was  prevented  by. 
the    intervention    of  the    Pope,    the    proper   mediator 


Exhaustion.  57 

between  Christian  princes.  John  XV.  sent  an  envoy 
to  England,  and  at  his  request  a  treaty  was  made 
between  the  king  and  the  duke.  Unfortunately,  the 
peace  with  the  Norwegians  was  broken.  A  fleet  was 
fitted  out  for  the  defence  of  the  coast ;  two  bishops 
and  two  lay  nobles  were  entrusted  with  the  command, 
and,  in  spite  of  treachery,  it  gained  one  of  the  few  suc- 
cesses of  the  reign.  Two  years  later  an  invasion  was 
made  by  the  combined  forces  of  Olaf  of  Norway,  Avho, 
it  is  said,  had  already  received  Christianity  from  Eng- 
lish missionaries,  and  of  Swend,  the  apostate  king  of 
Denmark.  After  a  time,  ^Ifheah  (St.  Alphege), 
bishop  of  Winchester,  was  sent  to  treat  for  peace 
with  Olaf,  who  was  with  his  fleet  at  Southampton. 
The  king  listened  to  the  bishop's  exhortations,  and 
fully  accepted  the  faith  into  which  he  had  been  bap- 
tized. He  met  iEthelred  at  Andover,  and  there  re- 
ceived confirmation,  and  promised  never  to  return  to 
England  as  an  enemy.  He  kept  his  word,  sailed 
away  to  evangelize  his  own  dominions,  and  became 
one  of  the  most  heroic  figures  in  early  Scandinavian 
history.  This  bloodless  victory  won  by  the  Church 
gave  the  land  rest  for  three  years,  during  which 
the  Bornician  see  at  last  found  an  abiding-place. 
Fear  of  the  Northmen  drove  Bishop  Ealdhun  and  his 
monks  to  flee  from  Chcster-le-Street.  Taking  the  body 
of  their  patron  with  them,  they  sought  shelter  at  Ripon, 
and  in  995,  when  the  immediate  danger  had  passed, 
settled  at  Durham.  There  Ealdhun  raised  his  church 
on  the  height  above  the  Wear,  in  that  strong  place 
that  has  had  so  great  an  influence  on  the  history  of 
the    see.      Even    in   his  time   the  bishopric  began   to 


58     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

assume  its  special   character  as  a  marcli  against  the 
Scots. 

On  -5i]lfric's  death  ^Ifheah  was  translated  to  Can- 
terbury.   The  new  archbishop  appears  to  have  laboured 
to  bring  about  a  national  reformation.    Two 

The  Church  .  n      i  •  i     i  t     •  i  •    i 

and  the  meetmgs  01  the  witan  were  held,  m  which 

the  ecclesiastical  element  was  evidently 
strong.  During  one  of  these  the  bishops  and  abbots 
met  each  day  for  prayer  and  consultation,  arranging 
probably  the  part  they  would  take  in  the  discussions 
of  the  assembly.  Decrees  were  made  enjoining  acts 
of  penitence  and  the  observance  of  the  day  of  the  new 
saint,  Eadward  the  Martyr.  All  were  to  live  right- 
eously, were  to  love  one  God,  uphold  one  Christen- 
dom, and  be  true  to  one  lord,  the  king.  Measures 
were  also  taken  for  the  defence  of  the  kingdom.  Thus 
even  a  strictly  ecclesiastical  matter  like  the  observance 
of  a  "  mass-day  "  was  made  a  subject  of  legislation  by 
the  national  Council.  At  the  same  time  the  assembly 
was  largely  ecclesiastical  in  character,  and  in  its  efforts 
after  better  things,  whether  with  regard  to  national 
unity  and  defence,  or  repentance  and  faith  towards 
God,  seems  to  have  followed  the  guidance  of  the  rulers 
of  the  Church. 

Efforts  such  as  this,  however,  were  rendered  of  no 

avail   by  the  folly  of  the   king,  the  treachery  of  the 

nobles,  and  the  disorganization  of  the  country. 

Martyrdom  mi        i   mi  i 

of  Archbishop  In  loi  I  Tliurkill,  who  was  then  m  com- 
mand of  a  Danish  fleet,  was  promised  a  large 
sum  of  money  if  he  would  cease  from  his  ravages. 
Payment  was  delayed,  and  the  Danes  attacked  Canter- 
bury, sacked  the  city,  burned  the  cathedral,  and  carried 


Exhaustion.  59 

off  many  captives,  and  among-  tliem  tlie  archbisliop. 
For  seven  months  they  kept  /Elfheah  in  tlieir  ships  in 
chains,  hunger,  and  misery.  At  first  he  promised  to 
ransom  himself;  but  he  repented  of  this,  for  he  thought 
of  the  sufferings  of  the  people  from  whom  the  money 
must  be  raised.  While  in  captivity  he  spoke  of  Christ  to 
those  who  guarded  him,  and  his  words  did  not  fall  to  the 
ground.  The  fleet  lay  at  Greenwich,  and  no  money  came 
either  as  tribute  or  for  the  ransom  of  the  archbishop.  On 
19th  May  1 012,  the  day  on  which  the  ransom  was  due, 
the  Danes  made  a  feast,  and  drank  deeply  of  some  wine 
they  had  brought  from  southern  lands.  Then  they 
brought  the  archbishop  forth  and  demanded  the  ran- 
som. He  replied  that  he  would  pay  nothing,  that  he 
was  ready  to  suffer,  and  that  he  commended  his  soul 
to  God,  Thurkill  saw  his  danger,  and  tried  to  save 
him,  offering  all  he  possessed,  except  his  ship,  for  his  life, 
But  they  would  not  hearken,  and  pelted  ^Ifheah  with 
stones  and  the  bones  of  the  oxen  which  they  had  eaten, 
until  at  last  one  who  had  been  converted  by  the  arch- 
bishop, and  whom  he  had  confirmed  the  day  before,  put 
him  out  of  his  agony  by  cleaving  his  head  with  his 
battle-axe.  ^Ifheah  did  not  die  in  vain.  Soon  after 
his  martyrdom  Thurkill,  whom  we  may  believe  he  had 
converted,  declared  himself  a  Christian,  and  brought 
his  ships  and  their  crews  to  serve  the  English  king. 
^'Elfheah  laid  down  his  life  for  the  sake  of  the  poor, 
and  his  death  gave  England  an  ally  who,  during  the 
remainder  of  yEthclred's  reign,  defended  her  to  the 
utmost  of  his  power  against  the  attacks  of  his  own 
countrymen. 

At  last  iEthelred  was  forced  to  flee  from  his  king- 


6o     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  A  ges. 

dom,  and  Swend  was  chosen  king.  His  reign  was 
short.  He  had  a  special  hatred  for  the  memory  of 
End  of  the  Eadmund,  the  martyred  king  of  East  Anglia, 
Danish  war.  ^^^  threatened  to  destroy  his  church  and 
put  its  priests  to  death  by  torture.  As  he  was  on  his 
way  thither  he  was  struck  by  death,  and  men  said 
that  he  cried  out  that  the  armed  figure  of  the  mar- 
tyred king  appeared  to  him  and  smote  him  with  his 
weapon.  -^thelred  returned  to  his  kingdom  after 
Swend's  death,  and  soon  after  his  return  held  a  witena- 
gemot,  by  the  advice  of  Archbishop  Lyfing,  In  the 
decrees  of  this  assembly  the  influence  of  the  Church  is 
again  strongly  marked  ;  they  are  mainly  expressions  of 
desires  for  national  repentance,  reformation,  and  unity. 
One  resolution  is  especially  noteworthy.  It  seems  as  if 
some  assemblies  had  been  held  which  had  treated  of 
secular,  or  perhaps  of  ecclesiastical,  matters  exclusively. 
This  was  declared  to  be  wrong ;  Christ's  law  and  the 
king's  law  were  to  be  declared  together,  as  in  old  time. 
In  the  struggle  between  Eadmund  and  Cnut,  which  soon 
followed,  churchmen  gave  their  lives  for  the  national 
cause ;  for  after  Eadmund's  last  battle  at  Assandun 
the  bishop  of  Dorchester  and  other  clergy  were  found 
among  the  slain.  Some  late  writers  say  that  they 
came  to  pray,  and  not  to  fight. 

In   the   change   that   came    over   the    character   of 
Cnut,  soon  after  he  ascended  the  throne,  we  may  dis- 
cern that  the  Church  won  a  spiritual  victory 

Cnut  and  the  i  •     t  ,  . 

Church,  01  much  the  same  kind  as  the  conversions 

of  Olaf  and  Thurkill.      The  fierce  bai-barian 

became  a  wise  and  just  ruler.      This  change  was,  it 

may  be  gathered,  largely  due  to  the  influence  of  ^thel- 


Exhaustion.  6i 

notli,  cnllod  tlio  Good,  whom  Cuut  made  arcliLisliop 
after  the  death  of  Lyfing.  Cnut's  ecclesiastical  laws 
consist  mainly  of  repetitions  from  earlier  codes  :  the 
"  mass-days  "  of  King  Eadward  and  Archbishop  Dun- 
stan  were  to  be  observed  by  all,  men  were  to  go  to 
"  housel "  three  times  a  year  at  least,  and  the  clergy 
were  to  instruct  their  flocks  diligently.  One  law  de- 
clares the  liability  of  the  laity  to  maintain  churches — 
"  all  people  ought  of  right  to  help  to  repair  the  church." 
Cuut  gave  largely  to  monasteries,  and,  moreover,  built 
at  Assandun,in  commemoration  of  his  victory,  a  secular, 
or  non-monastic,  church  which  was  served  by  a  priest 
named  Stigaud.  He  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome  in 
1026-7,  and  Nvhile  he  was  there  wrote  a  letter  ad- 
dressed to  the  two  archbishops  and  all  the  English 
people,  telling  them  how  honourably  he  had  been 
received  by  the  Pope  and  the  Emperor  Conrad ;  how 
he  had  spoken  to  them  of  the  wants  of  his  people,  and 
Conrad  had  promised  that  the  merchants  and  pilgrims 
of  England  and  Denmark  should  not  be  oppressed  with 
tolls  when  they  crossed  the  Alps.  To  the  Pope  he 
said  that  he  was  much  annoyed  to  find  that  his  arch- 
bishops had  to  pay  vast  sums  when  they  fetched  their 
palls,  and  it  was  decreed  that  this  should  be  so  no 
longer.  He  told  his  people  how  anxious  he  was  to 
rule  well,  and,  among  other  matters,  charged  the 
bishops  and  reeves  to  see  that  all  tithes,  Peter's  pence, 
and  church  dues  were  paid  up  by  the  time  he  came 
back. 

This  letter  w\as  addressed  to  the  archbishops  by 
name,  for  they  were,  in  virtue  of  their  oflSce,  the 
recognized    heads   of  the   people   of   England.       The 


62     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

authority  of  the  ai'chbishop  of  Cauterbuiy  was,  no 
doubt,  strengthened  by  the  influence  that  iEthelnoth 
exercised  over  the  king.  Its  extent  is  illustrated  by 
the  story  that  after  Cnut's  death  yEthelnoth  refused  to 
crown  Harold,  declaring  that  the  sons  of  Emma  had 
a  prior  claim.  Although  this  story  may  not  be  true, 
it  at  least  shows  that  it  was  held  not  to  be  impossible 
that  the  archbishop  should  have  acted  thus.  The  see 
of  Canterbury  gained  special  splendour  from  Cnut's 
policy  with  regard  to  the  different  kingdoms  under 
his  dominion.  He  treated  England  as  the  head  of 
his  northern  empire,  and  carried  this  policy  out  in 
ecclesiastical  as  well  as  in  civil  matters ;  for  he  ap- 
pointed certain  English  priests  to  Danish  sees,  and 
caused  ^thelnoth  to  consecrate  them.  They  must, 
therefore,  have  professed  obedience  to  Canterbury. 
This  roused  the  anger  of  the  archbishop  of  Ham- 
burg, the  metropolitan  of  the  North,  and  Cnut  pro- 
mised that  it  should  not  happen  again. 

Although  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  indeed 
the  bishops  generally,  had  considerable  political  influ- 
The  king's  ©nco  at  this  period,  Cnut's  chief  minister 
clerks.  ^^^  ^  layman,  and  this  had  an  important 

bearing  on  the  progress  of  a  change  in  the  administra- 
tive machinery  of  the  kingdom  that  deeply  affected 
the  Church.  As  long  as  the  chief  minister  of  the 
king  was  an  ecclesiastic,  the  clergy  who  carried  on  the 
routine  of  government  under  his  direction  naturally 
had  no  distinct  position.  Now,  however,  the  king's 
clerks  or  chaplains  begin  to  apj^ear  as  a  recognized 
body  of  officials  dischai'ging  the  ordinary  business  of 
the  administration.     When  Cnut  visited  different  parts 


Exhaustion.  6i 

of  the  king-Jom  lie  took  four  of  these  clerks  with  liim  ; 
for  his  journeys  were  really  judicial  circuits,  and  he 
needed  clerks  to  register  his  decrees  and  other  acts. 
Deeds  and  charters  drawn  up  by  these  clerical  secre- 
taries were,  when  necessary,  kept  in  the  royal  chapel, 
of  which  they  were  the  priests.  In  the  Confessor's 
reign  it  became  customary  for  the  king  to  signify  his 
will  by  sealed  writs,  and  an  officer  was  appointed  to 
keep  the  king's  seal.  He  was  called  the  chancellor, 
from  the  screen  {canccUi)  behind  which  the  secre- 
taries worked.  He  was  chief  of  the  royal  clerks,  and 
the  institution  of  his  office  gave  further  distinctness 
to  the  body  over  which  he  presided.  The  king's  clerks 
were  generally  rewarded  with  bishoprics  or  other  eccle- 
siastical preferments  ;  and  thus,  while  the  State  gained 
the  services  of  a  body  of  trained  officials,  the  Church 
Spiritual  ^^st  much  J  for  the  surest  path  to  prefer- 
accadence.  ment  lay  in  the  discharge  of  secular  rather 
than  of  religious  duties,  and  many  of  its  chief  minis- 
ters were  servants  of  an  earthly  rather  than  of  a 
Heavenly  King.  Indeed,  from  the  death  of  Cnut  to 
the  Norman  Conquest,  the  life  of  the  Church  is  marked 
by  increasing  worldliness.  Bishops  played  a  large 
part  in  the  aftairs  of  the  nation,  but,  for  the  most  part, 
had  little  regard  for  their  spiritual  duties.  Bishoprics 
were  sought  after  as  sources  of  wealth  and  power,  and 
were  often  obtained  by  simony  and  held  in  plurality. 
AVhile  "Wulfstan  of  Worcester  was  a  man  of  holy  life, 
Leofric  of  Exeter  an  ecclesiastical  reformer,  and  Eal- 
dred  of  York  a  prelate  of  conspicuous  energy,  most  of 
the  bishops  of  this  period  were  simply  greedy,  second- 
rate  men.      Nor  do  the  inferior  clergy  appear  to  have 


64     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

been  better  than  tlieir  rulers ;  for  baptism  is  said  to 
have  been  mucli  neglected,  because  the  clergy  refused 
to  administer  it  without  a  fee. 

On  the  death  of  Ilarthacnut,  in  1042,  the  line  of 

Danish    kings    ended,   and  Eadward  the  Confessor,   a 

reiDresentative    of    the    old    Enorlish    royal 

Eadward  the  '-  .    ,        ^ 

Confessor,  house,  was  chosen  king,  mainly  through  the 
influence  of  Earl  Godwine.  In  spite  of  his 
saintly  reputation,  Eadward  did  no  good  to  the  Church  ; 
for  he  did  not  strive  to  appoint  faithful  bishops.  He 
might  have  done  so ;  for,  though  the  clergy  had  a 
right  of  election,  and  appointments  were  made  in 
the  witenagemot,  the  king  certainly  at  this  time 
generally  gave  bishoprics  to  whom  he  would.  It 
rested  with  him  to  issue  the  writ  for  consecration,  and 
he  invested  the  new  prelate  with  the  temporalities  of 
the  see  by  the  gift  of  the  ring  and  staff.  Eadward, 
even  if  guiltless  of  simony  himself,  took  no  pains  to 
ensure  the  purity  of  episcopal  appointments,  and  treated 
them  simply  as  a  means  of  gratifying  his  favourites. 
His  long  residence  in  Normandy  had  made  him  more 
of  a  Frenchman  than  an  Englishman.      He 

Foreigners  i  t  i  n        •  i 

appoiutedto     lovcd   to   havo   foreigners   about   him,   and 

Kuglish  sees.  i     -vt  t-i 

promoted  Normans  to  English  bishoprics 
without  any  regard  for  their  fitness,  giving  London  to 
Robert  of  Jumicges,  a  meddlesome  politician,  who  had 
unbounded  influence  with  him,  and  setting  Ulf,  one 
of  his  Norman  clerks,  who  was  grossly  ignorant  of 
ecclesiastical  things,  over  the  diocese  of  Dorchester. 
The  Norman  party  of  the  court  was  opposed  by  Earl 
Godwine,  the  king's  chief  minister,  and  it  is  probable 
that  the  appointment  of  certain  Lotharingians  to  Eng. 


Exhaustion.  C5 

lisli  sees  w;is  due  to  his  desire  to  counterLalance  tlio 
influence  of  the  Norman  Lishops.  Tliat  even  God- 
wine,  the  head  of  the  national  party,  should,  in  the 
hope  of  strengthening  his  position,  have  procured 
English  bishoprics  for  foreigners  seems  to  prove  that 
native  churchmen  of  learning  and  high  character  were 
scarce. 

All  the  foreign  Lishops,  Normans  and  Lotharingians 
alike,  were  accustomed  to  greater  dependence  on  Rome 
Effect  of  these  ^^^^  ^^^  ®^®^  heen  owned  in  England,  and 
^Lppointmouts.  ^|^g    e^ed    of    their    appointment    was    to 

weaken  the  national  character  of  the  Church,  We 
now  for  the  first  time  find  bishops,  after  they  had  been 
nominated  by  the  king,  going  to  Rome  for  confirma- 
tion, and  the  Roman  court  claiming  to  have  the  right 
to  reject  a  royal  nomination.  Various  matters,  too, 
were  now  referred  to  the  Pope  for  decision,  contrary 
to  the  custom  of  the  English  Church,  Other  foreign 
fashions  were  also  introduced.  In  England,  any  place 
was  chosen  for  a  bishop's  see  that  was  a  convenient 
centre  for  diocesan  work  ;  on  the  Continent,  bishops 
always  had  their  sees  in  cities,  Leofric,  bishop  of 
Crediton,  a  Lotharingian  by  education  though  not 
by  birth,  naturally  had  foreign  ideas,  and  wished  to 
transfer  his  see  from  the  village  of  Crediton  to  the  city 
(jf  Exeter.  He  did  not  first  apply  to  the  king  for 
leave  to  make  this  change,  as  any  of  his  predecessoi's 
would  have  done,  but  asked  Pope  Leo  IX.  for  his 
sanction.  Leo  wrote  to  Eadward  expressing  his  sur- 
prise that  Leofric  should  have  "  a  see  without  a  city," 
and  requesting  that  the  change  should  be  made.  At 
the  same  time,  the  removal  was  actually  efiectcd  in 
c.  //.  ^ 


66     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

virtue  of  a  charter  granted  by  the  king  in  1050  with 
the  consent  of  the  witan.  When,  after  the  Conquest, 
foreigners  were  dominant  in  the  Church,  the  transla- 
tion of  sees  from  villages  to  cities  was,  as  we  shall  see, 
widely  carried  out.  Leofric  also  made  the  clergy  of 
his  cathedral  cdnform  to  a  rule  observed  by  canons 
in  Lotharingia,  called  the  rule  of  Chrodegang  of  Metz  ; 
he  would  not  allow  them  to  live  in  their  own  houses, 
and  forced  them  to  sleep  in  a  common  dormitory  and 
eat  at  a  common  table.  This  gave  his  chapter  a 
character  that  was  half  monastic  and  half  secular,  and, 
of  course,  prevented  the  clergy  from  living  as  married 
men.  The  system  was  introduced  at  Wells  by  the 
Lotharingian  bishop  Gisa,  and,  with  some  modifica- 
tions, at  York  by  Ealdred ;  but  it  never  took  root  in 
England.  The  influence  of  the  foreign  prelates  may 
also  be  traced  in  the  presence  of  English  bishops  at 
papal  councils.  Several  attended  the  council  which  Leo 
held  at  liheims  in  1049,  and  also  his  council  at 
Vercelli  the  next  year.  At  Vercelli,  Ulf  sought  the 
papal  confirmation  of  his  appointment  to  the  bishopric 
of  Dorchester,  and,  we  are  told,  "  they  were  very  nigh 
breaking  his  staff","  because  he  could  not  perform  the 
Service  of  the  Church.  Nevertheless,  ignorant  as  he 
was,  he  was  allowed  to  keep  his  oflnce ;  for  he  spent  a 
large  sum  in  bribery. 

In  1050  a  trial  of  strength  took  place  between  the 
national  and  foreign  parties  at  the  court  with  reference 
p.„.(y  to  an  election  to  the  see  of  Canterbury.    The 

struggles.  nionks  of  Christ  Church  chose  one  of  their 
number,  named  iElfric,  a  kinsman  of  Earl  Godwine,  and 
their   choice  was  approved  by  the  clergy.      Godwine 


EXIIAUSTIOX.  (J7 

Ibcggecl  the  king  to  accept  I?.W\c,  but  lie  refnsetl,  and 
appointed  Lis  Norman  favourite,  llobert  of  Juniic'ges, 
to  tliG  primacy,  and  Spcarhafoc,  abbot  of  Abingdon,  an 
Englisliman  and  a  skilful  goldsmitli,  wlio  was  making 
a  crown  for  liim,  to  the  bishopric  of  London,      When 
llobert  came  back  from  Rome  with  his  pall  he  refused 
to  obey    the   king's  order  that  he   should    consecrate 
Spcarhafoc,  declaring  that  the  Pope  had  forbidden  him 
to  do  so.      Spcarhafoc,   however,   though  ho   was  not 
consecrated,    kept    the    bishopric     for    some    months. 
Archbishop   Robert    succeeded    in   undermining   God- 
wine's  influence  with  the  king,  and  a  quarrel  became 
imminent.      Some  attempt  at  mediation  was  made  by 
Stigand,  bishop  of  Winchester,  originally  the  priest  of 
Cnut's  church  at  Assandun,  who  had  been  appointed 
by  Harthacnut  to  the  see  of  Elmham.      lie  lost  this 
sec  because  some  one   offered   the  king  money  for  it, 
and  regained  it  probably  by  giving  a  larger  sum.     He 
was  not  consecrated  until  1043;  then  he  was  deprived 
by  Eadward  for  political  reasons,  but  made  his  peace 
with  the  king,  and  again  regained  his  bishopric.      He 
belonged   to   Godwine's  party,   and  was  translated  to 
Winchester  while  the  earl  was  in  power.      His  attempt 
at  mediation  failed ;   God  wine  and  his  sons  were  out- 
lawed by  the  witan,  and  the  foreigners  became  dominant 
in  Church  and  State.     Spcarhafoc  was  now  ousted,  and 
the  bishopric  of  London  was  given  to  one  of  the  king's 
Norman  clerks,  named  William.      The  next  year  God- 
wine   anchored    at   Southwark   with    an   armed   force. 
When  the  Frenchmen  found  that  his  restoration  was 
certain   they   flod.      Robert   and    Ulf    cut     their    way 
through    the   streets    of  London,    and    the   archbishop 


6S     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  A  ges. 

"  betook  himself  over  sea,  and  left  his  pall  and  all 
Christendom  here  on  land,  so  as  God  willed  it,  as  he 
had  before  gotten  his  worship  as  God  willed  it  not." 
He  and  all  his  countrymen  were  outlawed,  and  Sti- 
gand  was  appointed  archbishop  in  his  stead.  William 
of  London  was,  however,  allowed  to  return  to  his  see, 
because  he  had  made  himself  acceptable  to  the  people. 
The  English  clergy  generally  were  on  the  side  of 
Godwine,  as  the  champion  of  the  national  cause;  and 
when  his  son  Harold  succeeded  to  his  earl- 

Earl  Harold. 

dom  and  power,  they  seem  to  have  upheld 
him  also.  Harold  was  a  more  religious  man  than  his 
father,  who  was  greedy  and  unscrupulous,  and  laid 
hands  on  some  of  the  possessions  of  the  Church.  Un- 
like the  other  chief  nobles  of  England  at  this  time, 
Godwine  was  not  a  benefactor  to  any  religious  house. 
His  son,  however,  founded  a  church  at  Waltham  in 
honour  of  the  Holy  Rood,  Contrary  to  the  fashion  of 
the  day,  he  made  his  foundation  collegiate,  not  monas- 
tic; he  did  not  build  his  church  for  monks,  whose  special 
aim  was  to  secure  their  own  salvation,  but  made  it  a 
college  of  secular  clergy  or  canons,  whose  duty  it  was 
to  do  good  to  others.  He  intended  his  college  to  be  a 
j)lace  of  education  ;  for  the  chancellor  of  the  church 
was  to  deliver  lectures,  and,  as  learning  was  scarce 
in  England,  he  gave  the  office  of  chancellor  to  a 
foreigner,  Adelard  of  Lii'ge.  Two  Lotharingians  were 
appointed  to  bishoprics  after  Harold  became  the  king's 
chief  minister,  so  that  in  this  respect  he  seems  to  have 
followed  the  ecclesiastical  policy  of  his  father. 

In  addition  to  the  Romanizing  influence  exercised  on 
the  Church   during  this  reign  by  foreign   prelates,  the 


Exhaustion.  69 

revival  of  tlic  custom  of  making  pilgrimages,  due  per- 
haps to  the  example  of  Ciiut,  perhaps  to  increased 
communication  with  the  Normans,  with 
igrima<,es.  ^^.j^^^^^  ^jij^  {Q^m  of  devotioH  was  exceedingly- 
popular,  tended  to  magnify  the  papal  authority  in 
l']ngland.  Eadward  himself  vowed  to  go  on  pilgrim- 
age to  Rome.  The  witan,  however,  told  him  that  he 
ought  not  to  leave  the  country,  and,  it  is  said,  advised 
him  to  pray  the  Pope  to  remit  his  vow.  At  all  events 
he  sent  Ealdred,  then  bishop  of  Worcester,  and  the 
bishop  of  Ramsbury  for  that  purpose  to  Rome.  Leo 
granted  the  king's  request,  and  by  his  direction 
Eadward  built  Westminster  Abbey  instead  of  making 
the  pilgrimage.  Harold  and  his  brothers,  Tostig  and 
Gyrth,  all  visited  Rome.  Tostig  was  accompanied  by 
Ealdred,  who  in  106 1  went  to  fetch  his  pall  after  he 
had  received  the  see  of  York.  Ealdred  was  a  notable 
[)luralist ;  he  had  administered  three  dioceses  at  once, 
and  was  now  holding  the  diocese  of  Worcester,  which 
he  intended  to  keep  along  with  York,  as  had  been  the 
custom  almost  ever  since  Oswald's  time.  Nicolas  II.  re- 
fused to  grant  him  the  pall,  accused  him  of  ignorance, 
simony,  and  plurality,  and  of  having  accepted  translation 
without  his  permission,  and  actually  declared  him  de- 
graded from  the  episcopal  order.  As  he  and  Tostig 
were  on  their  way  home  they  were  robbed  by  brigands 
at  Sutri.  This  was  lucky  for  Ealdred.  They  re- 
turned to  Rome,  and  the  fierce  earl  rated  the  Pope 
soundly.  If  this,  he  said,  was  the  treatment  English 
pilgrims  were  to  expect,  he  would  find  that  he  would 
get  no  more  money  from  England  ;  the  king  should 
be  told  of  the  whole  affair.     The  Pope  was  frightened ; 


yo     The  English  Church  in  the  Mjddle  Ages. 

he  was  recouciled  to  Eaklred,  and  granted  him  the 
pall  on  his  agreeing  to  give  up  Worcester.  Besides 
those  who  journeyed  to  Rome,  some  English  people 
went  on  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem,  and  among  them 
Ealdred,  before  he  was  made  archbishop,  had  journeyed 
thither,  "  with  such  worshipfuluess  as  none  had  ever 
shown  before," 

Soon  after  Ealdred  returned  from  Rome  with  his 
pall  two  legates  landed  in  England.  This  was  an 
Aiegatine  uuusual  cveut,  for  the  Church  had  been 
visit,  1062.  virtually  free  from  legatine  interference  for 
nearly  three  centuries,  and  this  visit  marks  the  change 
that  had  been  effected  in  her  relations  with  the  Papacy 
during  the  reign  of  Eadward.  By  the  advice  of  these 
legates,  Wulfstan  was  chosen  bishop  of  Worcester  by 
the  ''  clergy  and  people  "  of  the  city,  and  his  election 
was  approved  by  the  witan.  No  better  choice  could 
have  been  made. 

Although  the  independence  of  the  Church  had  been 
impaired,  its  national  character  was  still  strong.  No 
A  schismaticai  better  proof  can  be  given  of  this  than  the 
archbishop.  ecclesiastical  changes  consequent  on  Earl 
Godwine's  return.  Robert  and  Ulf  were  depi^ived  of 
their  sees  simply  by  a  decree  of  the  witan,  and  Stigand 
received  the  archbishopric  as  a  reward  for  political 
services.  As  far  as  regards  character,  he  was  certainly 
no  better  fitted  for  the  office  than  his  Norman  prede- 
cessor ;  for  he  was  worldly  and  grasping,  and  retained 
the  see  of  Winchester  along  with  the  archbishopric. 
It  was  obvious  that  as  long  as  Robert  lived  no  one 
could  canonically  hold  his  office ;  and  though  Stigand 
enjoyed    the     revenues    of    Canterbury,    he    was    not 


Exhaustion.  /i 

luokeJ  on  as  a  canonical  arclibishop,  and  lio  liad 
not  received  the  pall.  Robert  carried  his  wroiig-s  to 
Home,  and  his  deprivation  was  pronounced  unlawful ; 
so  Stigand  could  not  hope  that  the  pall  would  be 
granted  him.  For  some  years  he  wore  the  pall  which 
llobert  left  behind  him,  but  bishops-elect  would  not 
receive  consecration  at  his  hands  ;  at  last  he  obtained 
a  pall  from  Benedict  X.  As,  however,  Benedict  failed 
to  make  his  position  good,  and  was  reckoned  an 
anti-pope,  Stigand  was  involved  in  the  guilt  of  his 
schism.  Indeed,  though  the  gift  of  this  pall  enabled 
him  to  consecrate  two  bishops,  his  claims  were  still 
looked  on  with  suspicion,  and  it  is  said  that  when  the 
legates  were  in  England  they  pronounced  the  papal 
condemnation  of  his  pretensions.  AVulfstau  would  not 
be  consecrated  by  him,  and  he  was  not  allowed  to 
hallow  Harold's  church  at  Waltham,  or  Eadward's  new 
minister,  or  to  place  the  crown  on  Harold's  head. 
England  was  held  to  be  involved  in  his  schism. 
llobert  was  not  the  man  to  let  his  wrongs  be  for- 
gotten, and  they  were  reckoned  among  the  causes  that 
were  alleged  in  justification  of  the  Norman  invasion. 

When,  on  Eadward's  death,  Harold  was  chosen 
king,  the  Norman  duke,  William,  determined  to  enforce 
his  claim  to  the  throne.  He  was  carciul  to 
niiii  tilo*^*^^  enlist  the  sympathy  of  Christendom;  he  ap- 
ouqucs .  pgj^i^j  tQ  the  religious  feelings  of  the  age  by 
declaring  that  Harold  had  forsworn  himself  on  the  relics 
of  saints,  and  ho  sent  an  ambassador  to  lay  his  claim 
before  Pope  Alexander  11.  and  ask  his  approval.  He 
thus  constituted  the  Pope  the  arbiter  of  his  claim  to 
the  English  throne  ;   and  he  did  so  at  a  time  when  the 


72     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

Roman  see  was  under  the  guidance  of  the  master- 
mind of  the  Archdeacon  Hildebrand,  afterwards  Gregory 
VII.  William's  ambassador,  no  doubt,  insisted  strongly 
on  his  master's  declaration  that  if  he  was  successful  he 
would  reform  the  ecclesiastical  condition  of  the  country. 
We  may  gather  from  later  events  that  the  duke  pro- 
mised that  Peter's  pence  should  be  paid  regularly,  and 
we  are  told  that  he  even  declared  that  he  would  con- 
sider the  kingdom  a  grant  from  St.  Peter.  Harold 
sent  no  one  to  plead  his  cause ;  nevertheless  many  of 
the  cardinals  urged  that  the  Holy  See  ought  not  to 
sanction  bloodshed.  Hildebrand,  however,  upheld  the 
duke's  request.  With  him  the  greatness  of  the  papacy 
outweighed  all  other  considerations,  England  was  held 
to  be  an  undutiful  daughter  of  Pome.  Her  king, 
Harold,  had  visited  Pome  in  Penedict's  time,  and  had 
acknowledged  the  schismatical  Pope,  and  her  chief 
bishop  had  received  the  pall  from  him  ;  political  in- 
terests governed  the  affairs  of  the  English  Church ;  the 
papal  authority  was  lightly  regarded,  and  prelates 
whose  appointments  had  been  confirmed  at  Rome  were 
deprived  of  their  sees  by  the  national  assembly. 
Hildebrand's  arguments  prevailed  ;  and  in  after-days 
the  cardinals  blamed  him  for  thus  making  the  Holy 
See  a  party  to  the  destruction  of  so  many  lives. 
Alexander  sent  the  duke  a  ring  and  a  consecrated 
banner,  and  the  conquest  of  England  was  undertaken 
as  a  Holy  War.  This  gives  special  significance  to 
the  night  spent  in  prayer  by  the  invading  host,  to 
the  presence  of  many  clergy  in  William's  army,  and 
to  the  early  mass  at  which  he  received  the  Holy  Ele- 
ments.    In  the  battle  the  duke  wore  hansringf  from  his 


Exhaustion.  73 

neck  the  relics  to  whicli  Ilarokl  is  said  to  have  done 
despite.  The  Dragon  of  Wessex  sank  before  the  papal 
banner,  and  the  standard  of  Harold  was  sent  to  the 
Pope  in  exchange  for  his  gift. 

Although  the  close  union  of  the  Church  with  the 
State  during  the  period  before  the  Conquest  had  some 
Summary :  tiie  ill  effccts  ou  the  character  of  the  clergy, 
actcr" f'tiie"^'  i^  gave  the  Church  a  firm  hold  on  the  people. 
tilc'Normai'r^  The  use  that  it  made  of  its  influence  on 
Conquest.  socicty  Hcs  apart  from  the  main  purpose 
of  this  book ;  yet  some  notices  have  been  given  of 
its  efforts  for  social  reformation.  From  it  came  all 
that  there  was  of  purity,  gentleness,  and  humanity 
in  the  life  of  the  people.  By  example  and  precept  it 
taught  the  rich  their  duty  towards  the  poor,  it  edu- 
cated all  who  cared  to  learn,  it  purified  domestic  life, 
it  exalted  the  position  of  woman  and  protected  her 
weakness,  it  shielded  the  helpless  from  oppression,  and 
proclaimed  that  the  slave  was  precious  in  the  sight  of 
God.  The  clergy  recommended  the  manumission  of 
slaves  as  a  meritorious  deed  ;  the  ceremony  was  often 
performed  at  the  altar  of  a  church,  and  records  of 
such  acts  are  recorded  in  the  missal-books  of  minsters. 
When  a  king  or  noble  visited  some  church,  it  was 
held  that  the  visitor  paid  a  high  compliment  to  the 
clergy  if  he  freed  a  slave  or  a  captive  before  their 
altar.  The  national  character  of  the  Church  deeply 
affected  the  life  of  the  State.  Its  unity  in  a  large 
measure  gave  unity  to  the  people,  and  created  the 
nation.  Its  ministers  held  each  his  recognized  place 
in  the  national  organization ;  the  parish  priest,  as  the 
head  of  the   parish,  attended  the  hundred-court  with 


74     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

the  reeve  of  tlie  lord  ;  the  bishop  was  a  member  of 
the  national  council,  and  sat  with  the  ealdorman  in 
the  local  courts.  Great  as  the  political  power  of  the 
bishops  was,  they  made  no  attempt  to  strengthen 
their  temporal  position  at  the  expense  of  the  national 
system ;  they  did  not  seek  to  become  territorial  princes, 
like  the  bishops  of  the  Continent,  who  held  a  position 
derived  from  the  arrangements  of  the  Eoman  Empire. 
This  is  true  even  of  the  two  archbishops,  though  the 
high  degree  of  temporal  power  attached  to  their  sees 
is  signified  by  the  right  they  exercised  of  coining 
money.  '  For,  while  the  archbishops  of  Canterbury  suc- 
ceeded to  much  of  the  power  once  held  by  the  under- 
kings  of  the  Kentish  kingdom,  they  did  not  use  it  in 
attempts  to  build  up  a  subordinate  princedom  ;  and 
if  the  archbishops  of  York  appear  for  a  season  as 
independent  political  leaders  of  the  Northern  people, 
they  cease  to  do  so  when  their  province  is  thoroughly 
united  to  the  dominions  of  the  English  king.  In  the 
midst  of  the  struggles  of  contending  parties  and  the 
treason  of  ambitious  nobles,  the  English  prelates  con- 
tinued faithfully  to  fulfil  their  duties  to  the  State, 
and  the  clergy  at  large  supplied  it  with  a  succession 
of  able  administrative  officials.  Churchmen  bore  their 
share  of  the  national  burdens.  The  fleets  with  which 
the  king  and  the  witan  sought  to  guard  the  coasts  were 
raised  by  levies  from  every  shire.  To  these  levies  the 
lands  of  the  Church  were  liable  equally  with  those  of 
laymen.  Accordingly  we  find  that  Archbishop  vElfric, 
at  his  death  in  1005,  was  possessed  of  ships  and  their 
equipments,  the  quota,  no  doubt,  that  he  was  bound  to 
furnish  when  the  witan  decided  on  gathering  a  fleet. 


Exhaustion.  75 

His  best  ship  togatlicr  willi  armour  for  sixty  men  lie  left 
to  the  king,  and,  besides  this,  he  gave  a  ship  to  the 
people  of  Kent,  and  another  to  the  people  of  Wiltshire — 
probably  to  help  them  to  bear  the  burden  that  the  war 
laid  upon  them.  Moreover,  the  Danegeld,  which  was 
originally  raised  for  the  purpose  of  buying  peace  of  the 
Danes,  and  was  continued  as  a  permanent  tax  on  every 
hide  of  cultivated  land  until  it  was  abolished  by  the 
Confessor,  to  be  reimposed  in  a  more  oppressive  form 
by  the  Norman  Conqueror,  was  paid,  except  in  cases  of 
special  exemption,  on  the  lands  of  ecclesiastics  as  well 
as  of  laymen. 

The  freedom  of  the  Church  kept  alive  the  national 
spirit  in  the  evil  days  that  followed  the  Conquest ;  it 
was  used  to  restrain  oppression,  and  the  Church  became 
the  bond  that  united  conquerors  and  conquered  in  one 
people.  As  regards  the  Church  itself,  its  national 
character  gave  it  independence,  and  in  many  ways  it 
acted  by  itself  apart  from  the  rest  of  Western  Chris- 
tendom. From  the  reign  of  the  ^Mercian  Cenwulf  to 
the  reiirn  of  the  Confessor  it  was  virtuallv  free  from 
papal  interference,  and  the  Popes  took  little  heed  of 
what  passed  in  England.  It  made  saints  of  those  who 
were  venerated  by  the  English  people,  and  observed 
their  mass-days  in  accordance  with  the  decrees  of  the 
national  council ;  it  constantly  used  the  tongue  of  the 
people  in  prayers  and  homilies ;  its  doctrines  were 
held  and  advanced  with  little  reference  to  papal  autho- 
rity, and  its  rights  were  laid  down  by  kings  and  en- 
forced by  civil  officers.  Isolated  from  the  rest  of 
Europe,  England  seemed  to  men  like  another  world, 
of   which    the   archbishop    of    Canterbury    was    pope. 


^6     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

The  isolation  and  strongly  national  character  of  the 
Church  were  not  without  danger  to  its  well-being. 
To  be  cut  off  from  Eome  was  to  lose  all  share  in  the 
manifold  and  progressive  life  of  Western  Christendom. 
Had  the  Church  of  England  retained  its  purely  insular 
character,  it  would  never  have  risen  much  above  the 
level  of  the  nation,  nor  have  been  able  to  elevate 
society.  During  the  years  immediately  preceding  the 
Conquest  it  sank  with  the  nation.  It  was  a  period  of 
exhaustion  both  in  Church  and  State ;  and  the  time 
might  have  come  when  the  isolation  of  the  Church  of 
England  would  have  ended  in  a  decay  as  complete  as 
that  of  the  Celtic  Church.  From  such  a  dano-er  the 
Church  was  saved  by  the  Norman  Conquest.  It  rested 
with  the  Conqueror  and  his  successors  to  determine 
how  far  the  Conquest  was  to  lead  to  the  fulfilment  of 
Hildebrand's  expectations,  to  decide  whether  England 
should  become  the  submissive  handmaid  of  Rome. 


(     77     ) 


CHAPTER  V. 
ROYAL  SUPREMACY. 

THE  COXQUEROR  AND  LANFRANC — CANTERBURY  AND  YORK — 
SEPARATE  ECCLESIASTICAL  SYSTEM  — REMOVAL  OF  SEES — EX- 
TENT AND  LIMITS  OF  PAPAL  INFLUENCE — THE  COXQUEROR'S 
BISHOPS— CHANGE  IN  THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  CHURCH — 
AN  APPEAL  TO  ROME— FEUDAL  TENDENCIES — ST.  ANSELM — 
STRUGGLE  AGAINST  TYRANNY  —  INVESTITURES  —  HENRY  L 
— COUNCILS — LEGATES — INDEPENDENCE  OF  THE  SEE  OF  YORK 
— SUMMARY. 

Ix  order  to  ensure  the  success  of  Lis  invasion,  William 
had  given  the  Pope  a  strong  claim  on  his  obedience, 

at  a  time  when  the  papal  power  was  ad- 
Eii},'ii.sh  vaucing  rapidly  under  the  guidance  of  Hil- 

dcbrand,  who  in  1073  became  Pope  with 
the  title  of  Gregory  VII.  Nevertheless  William  suc- 
ceeded in  using  the  papal  pretensions  to  strengthen 
his  hold  on  England,  and  in  disregarding  them  when 
they  threatened  to  weaken  his  absolute  sovereignty 
in  Church  and  State.  In  1070,  when  he  had  com- 
pleted the  conquest  of  the  land,  he  set  about  securing 
the  submission  of  the  Church,  and  invited  Alexander  II. 
to  send  legates  to  his  court.  Accordingly  certain  legates 
visited  this  country,  and  deposed  Stigand  and  other 
bishops  and  abbots.      Thus  tlie   Pope  was  gratified  by 


7  8     The  Ex  gush  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

the  deposition  of  the  uncanonical  ai'chbishop,  while  the 
Conqueror,  by  ousting  the  native  prelates,  crushed  the 
strongest  element  of  national  resistance.  York,  which 
was  vacant  by  the  death  of  Ealdred,  was  given  to 
Thomas  of  Bayeux,  one  of  the  king's  clerks ;  other 
Normans  were  appointed  to  different  sees ;  and  shortly 
Lanfranc,  aftcrwards  Laufrauc  was  appointed  to  Can- 
c™ntetSuy°^  terbury.  Lanfranc,  a  native  of  Pavia,  a  man 
1070-1089.  Q^  great  learning  and  ability,  and  especially 
skilled  in  civil  law,  first  came  to  Normandy  as  a  teacher. 
He  suddenly  gave  up  this  work,  entered  the  newly 
founded  monastery  of  Bee,  and  devoted  himself  to  the 
monastic  life.  He  became  prior,  and  his  talents  attracted 
the  notice  of  the  duke,  who  made  him  his  counsellor, 
and  gave  him  the  abbacy  of  his  new  monastery,  St. 
Stephen's,  at  Caen.  At  Rome,  Lanfranc  was  honoured 
as  the  defender  of  transubstantiation,  and  his  appoint- 
ment to  Canterbury  was  warmly  approved  by  the  Pope. 
He  was  a  man  on  whom  the  Conqueror  could  safely 
rely  for  the  furtherance  of  his  ecclesiastical  policy. 
Hitherto  there  had  virtually  been  only  one  system  of 
administration  for  both  Church  and  State,  William's 
work  was  to  create  a  separate  ecclesiastical  system, 
carried  on  by  clerical  officers.  Yet  the  Church  no 
less  than  the  State  was  to  be  under  his  own  absolute 
control ;  and  so,  while  he  needed  a  strong  archbishop, 
he  needed  one  who  would  exert  his  strength  to  main- 
tain and  increase  the  royal  power.  In  Lanfranc  ho 
found  an  archbishop  after  his  own  heart,  in  exalting 
whose  position  he  strengthened  his  own. 

No  writ  was  issued  for  the  consecration  of  Thomas 
of   York    until    Lanfranc    had    received   consecration, 


Royal  Supremacy.  79 

and  this  delay  was  perhaps  intentional ;  for  when 
Thomas  brought  the  writ  to  Lanfranc  he  was  bidden 
Canterbury  ^o  profess  obcdience  to  the  see  of  Canter- 
andYoik.  burv.  He  rcfuscd  to  do  so,  on  the  ground 
that  Gregory  had  instituted  two  co-ordinate  arch- 
bishoprics. On  the  other  hand,  the  bishops  of  York, 
from  Paulinas  to  Ecgberht,  had  not  enjo\'ed  metropo- 
litan dignity,  and  even  since  Ecgberht's  time  the  see 
had  occupied  an  inferior  position  to  Canterbury.  Lan- 
franc had  papal  decrees  and  other  evidences  on  his 
side,  and  gained  the  king's  support  by  represent- 
ing that  an  independent  metropolitan  at  York  might 
crown  an  independent  king  of  Northumbria.  William 
compelled  Thomas  to  profess  obedience  to  Lanfranc  per- 
sonally, and,  with  respect  to  the  future,  ordered  that 
the  question  should  be  decided  by  the  Pope.  When  the 
two  archbishops  went  to  Rome  for  their  palls,  Alex- 
ander was  about  to  degrade  Thomas  and  Eemigius, 
bishop  of  Dorchester,  who  went  with  them,  on  account 
of  canonical  irregularity,  and  only  forbore  to  do  so 
at  Lanfranc's  request.  Thomas  brought  forward  the 
matter  of  the  profession,  and  further  claimed  Dor- 
chester, Lichfield,  and  Worcester  as  subject  to  York. 
Alexander  referred  these  matters  to  the  decision  of  an 
English  synod,  and  the  case  seems  to  have  been  heard 
before  a  mixed  assembly  of  clergy  and  laity,  which 
pronounced  against  Thomas ;  he  was  forced  to  make 
a  general  profession  of  obedience,  the  Humber  was 
declared  the  boundary  between  the  provinces,  and  he 
was  left  with  only  one  suffragan,  the  bishop  of  Dur- 
ham. This  disproportion  between  the  archbishoprics 
had  not  been  contemplated  by  Gregory,  for  his  division. 


So     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  A  ges. 

which  was  based  on  the  assumption  that  the  whole 
island  was  under  one  rule,  included  Scotland  in  the 
province  of  York.  Under  William  and  Lanfranc  the 
English  Church  made  its  power  felt  in  yet  uncon- 
quered  Celtic  lands.  The  claim  of  York  was  asserted 
over  Scotland.  As  that  country  had  no  metropoli- 
tan and  no  organized  episcopal  system,  the  assertion 
was  plausible,  and  a  bishop  of  the  Orkneys  was  cer- 
tainly consecrated  by  Thomas.  It  is  extremely  doubt- 
ful whether  the  authority  of  Canterbury  was  in  any 
instance  acknowledged  in  Wales  during  this  reign, 
though  a  few  years  later  it  was,  as  we  shall  see,  suc- 
cessfully asserted.  In  Ireland  the  irregular  condition 
of  the  episcopacy  naturally  led  kings  and  bishops  to 
look  up  to  Lanfranc ;  he  consecrated  two  archbishops 
of  Dublin,  who  made  profession  to  him,  and  he  wrote 
with  authority  to  two  kings  on  matters  of  discipline. 
An  approach  was  thus  made  to  the  ecclesiastical  sub- 
mission of  Ireland,  and  the  primate  of  Britain  was 
not  unreasonably  held  by  Latin  Christendom  to  be 
"  Patriarch  of  the  nations  beyond  the  sea." 

Under  William  and  Lanfranc  synods  were  again 
held  frequently,  and,  in  accordance  with  the  king's 
National  po^^cy,  ecclcsiastical  legislation,  which  had 

ecciesiVsticai  ^^  ^^'^  preceding  age  been  provided  for  in 
courts.  ^YiQ    national    assembly,    was    confined    to 

them.  They  were  councils  of  the  whole  Church ; 
for  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury  was  acknowledged  as 
primate  of  all  Britain  :  they  consisted  of  one  house,  and 
such  of  the  inferior  clergy  as  attended  them  were  little 
more  than  spectators,  for  no  one  might  speak  without 
special  permission    save    bishops    and    abbots.      Their 


Royal  Supremacy.  8i 

action  was  controlled  by  the  king,  and  we  find  them 
held    at    the    same    place    as,  and   immediately  after 
the  close  of,   one  or  other  of  the  yearly  meetings  of 
the  great  council.      Episcopal  elections  seem  to  have 
been  made  in  these  synods  instead  of  in  the  national 
assembly,  though  in  these,  as  in  all  else,  the  king  was 
supreme.      While  the  Church  thus  regained  separate 
synodical  activity,  the  bishops  did  not  lose  their  places 
in  the  national  assembly.      Their    right,  however,  no 
longer  rested  simply  on  the  wisdom  supposed  to  be 
inherent  in  their  office ;  they  now  held  their  tempora- 
lities as  baronies,  and  sat  in  the  council  as  barons ;  for 
the  old  witenagemot  had  been  transformed  into  a  feudal 
council.     A  separation  was  also  effected  in  the  judicial 
system.       The  Conqueror  declared  the  union  of  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  to  be  mischievous,  and  pro- 
vided that  henceforth  no  bishop  or  archdeacon  should 
sit  in   the   hundred    court ;    that   all   spiritual    causes 
should  be  tried  by  the  bishop  in  his  own  court  and  be 
determined  according  to  the  canons,  and  that  if  any 
one   disobeyed   the    bishop's   summons    a.nd   remained 
contumacious   after    excommunication,   he    should     be 
brought  to  obedience  by  the  king  or  the  sheriff.     This 
establishment  of  ecclesiastical  courts,  with  their  own 
system  of  law,  was  doubtless  pleasing  to  the  Pope,  for 
the  old  English  practice  was  contrary  to  the  spirit  of 
Hildebrand's  work.       Its  ultimate  tendency  was  to  lead 
men  to  look  to  Eome  as  the  supi-eme  court  of  appeal 
in  spiritual  causes,  and  to  set  churchmen  in  opposition 
to  the  Crown.       For  some  time  after  the  Conqueror's 
death    the    separation    of   the    courts    was    not   fully 
effected,    and    this    tendency  was    scarcely    apparent. 
c.  //.  *' 


82     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

Nevertheless,  his  policy  raised  up  a  power  in  England 
that  in  later  days  greatly  hampered  the  exercise  of 
the  royal  authority  and  brought  some  troubles  on  the 
country. 

Among  the  more  important  synodical  decrees  of 
this  reign  is  that  of  the  council  held  at  London  in 
Kemovai  ^^7 Si    which    Ordered    that    bishops'    sees 

of  sees.  should  bo   removcd   from  villages  to  cities. 

The  change  begun  by  Leofric  was  carried  fully  out 
now  tliat  nearly  every  bishop  was  a  foreigner.  The 
see  of  Sherborne  was  moved  by  Hermann  to  Salis- 
bury (Old  Sarum),  to  be  moved  again  when  the  present 
church  of  the  new  Salisbury  was  built  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  III. ;  the  see  of  Selsey  was  moved  to  Chiches- 
ter ;  that  of  Lichfield  to  Chester,  and  a  few  years 
later  to  Coventry,  where  the  bishop  seized  on  the  abbey 
by  force ;  the  see  of  Elmham  was  moved  first  to  Thet- 
ford,  and  then  to  Norwich ;  and  in  the  reign  of  Rufus, 
the  bishop  of  Wells  left  his  little  city  for  Bath.  While 
the  decrees  of  ancient  Popes  and  councils  were  cited 
as  authorities  for  this  measure,  the  act  of  the  council, 
like  all  the  conciliar  acts  of  the  reign,  derived  its  force 
from  the  king's  approval. 

Gregory  had  reason  to  congratulate  himself  on  the 
part  he  had  taken  in  forwarding  the  Conquest.  The 
Kxtont  of  papal  ^ ^canonical  archbishop  was  deposed,  and 
influence.  j^-g  pja^^g  taken  by  one  who  was  especially 
pleasing  to  the  Holy  See  ;  insular  peculiai-ities  were 
removed,  the  new  foreign  bishops  were  far  more  amen- 
able to  papal  influence  than  the  native  bishops  had 
been,  and  the  changes  effected  in  the  government 
of  the   Church  were  generally  such    as  he    approved. 


Royal  Supremacy.  83 

In  these  and  some  otlier  matters  his  desires  were 
in  accord  with  the  policy  of  the  Conqueror.  Where 
it  vras  otherwise  he  found  that  the  king  and  his 
archbishop  would  act  according  to  their  own  judg- 
ment. While  Lanfranc  cordially  sympathized  in 
Gregory's  attempt  to  root  out  the  custom  of  clerical 
marriage,  his  action  was  governed  by  the  circum- 
stances of  the  Church  over  which  he  presided.  In 
England  the  custom  obtained  too  widely  to  be  attacked 
without  discrimination.  Accordingly  the  Council  of 
Winchester,  in  1076,  only  partially  followed  the  ex- 
ample of  the  council  which  Gregory  had  held  in  Rome 
two  years  before.  It  decreed  that  no  canon  should  have 
a  wife,  that  the  marriage  of  priests  was  for  the  future 
forbidden,  and  that  no  bishop  should  ordain  a  mar- 
ried man  deacon  or  priest.  On  the  other  hand,  priests 
who  were  already  married  were  not  called  upon  to  leave 
their  wives.  Other  decrees  of  this  council  insisted  on 
the  sanctity  of  marriage,  and  the  necessity  of  obtain- 
ing the  Church's  blessing  in  matrimony. 

The  absolute  supremacy  of  the  Conqueror  in  ecclesi- 
astical matters  is  expressed  in  three  rules  which  he  is 
said  to  have  laid  down,  and  which  define  his 
rights  in  relation  to  the  papacy.  lie  would 
have  no  Pope  acknowledged  as  apostolic  without  his 
bidding,  and  no  papal  letters  brought  into  his  king- 
dom unless  he  approved  them.  Synodical  decrees  were 
to  have  no  force  unless  he  had  first  ordained  them  ; 
and  none  of  his  barons  or  officers  of  state  were  to  be 
excommunicated  or  subjected  to  ecclesiastical  rigour 
without  his  precept.  Nor  did  he  hesitate  to  return  a 
flat  refusal  to  a  papal  demand  ;  for  when  Gregory  sent 


84     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

a  legate  to  admonisli  liim  to  be  more  punctual  in  for- 
warding Peter's  pence,  and  to  demand  a  profession  of 
fealty  to  the  Holy  See,  he  wrote  that  he  admitted  the 
one  claim  and  not  the  other.  Fealty  lie  would  not  do, 
for  he  had  not  promised  it,  nor  did  he  find  that  earlier 
kings  had  done  it.  He  took  his  stand  on  his  position 
as  king  of  England  ;  that  which  his  predecessors  had 
done  he  would  do,  but  he  would  not  grant  the  Pope  any 
authority  over  his  kingdom  that  they  had  not  granted. 
Even  Gregory  was  forced  to  suffer  this ;  he  seems  to 
have  blamed  Lanfranc  for  the  king's  independent 
answer,  bade  him  come  to  Pome,  and  urged  him  to 
bring  William  to  obedience.  Lanfranc  defended  him- 
self in  becoming  terms,  but  stayed  where  he  was,  and 
at  last  the  Pope  threatened  to  suspend  him  if  he  did 
not  obey  his  summons.  Gregory,  however,  had  power- 
ful enemies  nearer  home,  and  did  not  care  to  quarrel 
with  a  king  who  steadily  refused  to  take  part  against 
him.  His  struggle  with  Henry  IV.  gave  occasion  for 
the  exercise,  perhaps  for  the  enunciation,  of  the  first 
of  the  Conqueror's  rules,  and  Lanfranc  writes  that  "  our 
island  "  had  not  yet  decided  between  Gregory  and  the 
antipope  Clement.  Lanfranc's  own  sympathies,  of 
course,  were  with  Gregory,  but  he  would  not  condemn 
the  action  of  the  Emperor  ;  he  thought  that  the  proper 
attitude  for  England  was  one  of  neuti-ality. 

AVith  the  exception  of  Worcester,  no  English  see 
was  left  in  the  hands  of  a  native  bishop.  They  were 
Norman  ^®^cl  either  by  Normans  or  by  the  Lotharin- 

bisbops.  gians  who  had  been  appointed  in  the  Con- 

fessor's reign.  At  Worcester,  Wulfstan,  though  not  a 
man  of  learning,  was  allowed  to  retain  his  bishopric 


Royal  Supremacy.  85 

on  account  of  his  liolhicss.  Among  Ills  otlicr  good 
works,  he  preached  in  Bristol  against  the  slave-trade 
Avith  Ireland  that  was  largely  carried  on  there,  and  per- 
suaded the  townsmen  to  give  it  up.  Most  of  William's 
bishops  were  men  of  high  character,  for  his  appoint- 
ments were  free  from  simony,  and  were,  no  doubt, 
suggested  by  Lanfranc ;  and  the  king  himself  had  no 
liking  for  evil  men.  Some  of  them  were  learned; 
nearly  all  were  magnificent.  They  did  not  play  a 
great  part  in  State  affairs,  and  stand  in  some  con- 
trast both  to  the  old  native  bishops,  who  were  leaders 
of  the  witan,  and,  though  several  of  them  had  been 
the  king's  clerks,  to  the  bishops  of  a  later  period,  wdio 
were  before  all  things  royal  ministers.  They  generally 
rebuilt  their  churches  in  the  Norman  style,  of  which 
the  Confessor's  church  at  Westminster  was  the  earliest 
example  in  England.  At  York,  Archbishop  Thomas 
did  away  with  the  discipline  introduced  by  Ealdred, 
and  assigned  separate  prebends  to  each  of  the  canons, 
an  arrangement  which  was  gradually  adopted  in  all 
cathedral  churches  with  secular  chapters.  That  the 
chapter  of  a  cathedral  church  should  consist  of  monks 
was  extremely  rare  except  in  England,  but  as  the 
Normans  generally  were  strong  supporters  of  monasti- 
cism,  this  was  a  peculiarity  of  which  they  approved, 
and  in  some  churches  secular  canons  were  displaced  by 
monks.  Some  of  the  bishops,  however,  who  were  not 
monks,  with  Walchelin,  bishop  of  Winchester,  at  their 
head,  saw  that  monastic  chapters  were  a  hindrance  to 
the  bishop,  and  were  unfitted  for  their  duties.  They 
conceived  the  idea  of  replacing  the  monks  by  secular 
canons  even  in  the  metropolitan  cliurcli.      AVilliam  is 


86     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

said  to  have  approved  of  the  scheme  ;  but  it  was  highly 
distasteful  to  Lanfranc,  "  the  father  of  the  monks," 
and  he  obtained  a  letter  from  Alexander  II.  indig- 
nantly forbidding  it.  The  scheme  was  defeated,  and 
Walchelin,  who  had  forty  clerks  with  their  tonsure 
cut  and  their  dress  prepared  as  canons,  ready  to  take 
the  place  of  the  monks  of  St.  Swithun's,  and  to  divide 
the  monastic  estates  into  prebends,  had  to  send  them 
about  their  business.  Although  William's  Norman 
bishops  were  generally  good  specimens  of  continental 
churchmen,  they  had  no  sympathy  with  the  thoughts 
and  feelings  of  their  clergy  and  people.  Of  one  only, 
Osbern  of  Exeter,  it  is  said  that  he  adopted  the  Eng- 
lish mode  of  life.  Lanfranc  despised  the  national 
saints,  and  doubted  the  right  of  his  predecessor,  -^If- 
heali,  to  the  title  of  martyr,  until  he  was  taught  better 
by  Anselm,  abbot  of  Bee.  The  admiration  of  the  Nor- 
mans for  monasticism  caused  a  considerable  increase 
in  the  practice  of  endowing  monasteries  with  tithes  and 
parish  churches,  and  thus  in  many  cases  tithes  were 
paid  to  abbeys  both  here  and  abroad. 

In  every  respect  our  Church  lost  much  of  its  insular, 

and  something  also  of  its  national,  character  by  the 

Conquest.     Its  prelates  were  foreigners  ;   it 

The  national  \  ,         i  t^  t  i 

character  of      was  drawn  moro  Closely  to  Home,  and  legates 

the  Church.  .  _  _      _  _      . 

came  over,  and  judged  and  deposed  her 
native  bishops,  not  always  justly;  its  councils  and 
courts  were  separated  from  the  councils  and  courts 
of  the  nation.  There  seems  to  have  been  a  change 
made  even  in  doctrine ;  for  the  dogma  of  transubstan- 
tiation,  of  which  Lanfranc  was  the  special  champion, 
was   now   universally  accepted,   and   the   archbishop's 


Royal  Supremacy.  87 

eagerness  in  this  niattei"  is  reflected  in  the  many  stories 
of  miracles  connected  with  the  Holy  Elements  which 
appear  in  contemporary  literature.  Yet  the  Church  re- 
mained the  representative  of  English  nationality  ;  her 
influence  at  once  began  to  turn  Normans  into  English- 
men ;  and  it  is  interesting  to  find  Lanfranc  using  the 
terms  "  our  island  "  and  "  we  English,"  and  describing 
himself  to  Alexander  11.  as  a  "new  Englishman."  As 
primate  of  the  English  Church,  he  was  the  spiritual  head 
of  the  nation,  of  English  villeins  as  well  as  of  Norman 
barons.  All  were  Englishmen  to  him,  and  all  soon 
became  in  truth  one  people.  And  while  the  establish- 
ment of  a  separate  system  of  ecclesiastical  administra- 
tion tended  to  destroy  the  national  character  of  the 
Church,  this  tendency  was  neutralized  by  the  exercise 
of  the  king's  supremacy.  The  new  system  worked 
well ;  but  its  success  was  due  to  the  fact  that  it  was 
carried  out  by  a  king  and  a  primate  at  once  so 
strong  and  so  united  in  policy  as  the  Conqueror  and 
Lanfranc. 

The  first  William,  if  an  austere  man,  was  a  mighty 
ruler,  who  loved  order  and  valued  the  services  of  good 
William  Rufus,  ^^^n :  the  second  was  a  braggart  and  a  blas- 
1087-1100.  phemer,  whose  life  was  unspeakably  evil  and 
whose  greediness  knew  no  shame.  In  his  hands  the 
royal  supremacy  became  a  hateful  tyranny,  and  the 
relations  between  the  Church  and  the  Crown  were  dis- 
turbed. Early  in  the  reign  the  change  in  these  rela- 
tions was  illustrated  by  an  appeal  to  Rome.  William 
of  Saint-Calais,  bishop  of  Durham,  an  ambitious  and 
crafty  intriguer,  was  cited  to  appear  before  the  king's 
court   on    a    charge    of   treason,    and    his    lands    were 


88     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

seized.  He  complained  that  liis  bishopric  had  been 
seized,  and  Lanfranc,  who  upheld  the  king's  action, 
answered  that  his  fiefs  were  not  his  bishopric.  Next  he 
pleaded  the  privilege  of  his  order,  and  refused  to  be 
judged  by  the  lay  barons.  "  If  I  may  not  judge  you 
and  your  order  to-day,"  said  Robert  of  Meulan,  "  you 
and  your  order  shall  never  judge  me."  If  bishops  re- 
fused the  jurisdiction  of  the  king's  court,  they  should 
cease  to  be  members  of  it,  they  should  no  longer  hold 
fiefs  of  the  Crown.  Finally,  William  appealed  to 
Home.  Archbishop  Eobert  had  in  exile  appealed  to 
the  Pope  against  a  decree  of  the  national  assembly ; 
Bishop  William,  for  the  first  time  since  the  days  of 
Wilfrith,  made  a  like  appeal  in  the  presence  of  the 
king  and  his  council.  The  sole  object  of  Rufus  was 
to  obtain  Durham  Castle ;  the  bishop  surrendered  it, 
and  was  allowed  to  go  abroad,  but  he  does  not  ap- 
pear to  have  prosecuted  his  appeal. 

The  special  danger  which  threatened  the  Church  in 
this  reign  arose  from  the  attempt  to  treat  it  as  a 
Feudal  feudal  society.      Ralph  Flambard,  the  minis- 

tyranuy.  ^g^,  q£  Rufus,  raised  money  for  his  master 
chiefly  by  exaggerating  and  systematizing  the  feudal 
elements  already  existing  in  civil  life.  The  practice 
of  granting  the  temporalities  by  investiture  shows 
that,  even  before  the  Conquest,  Church  lands  were  to 
some  extent  regarded  in  a  feudal  light,  and  since  then 
this  idea  had  gained  strength.  Rufus  treated  them 
as  mere  lay  fiefs,  and  dealt  with  the  prelates  simply  as 
his  tenants-in-chief  No  pi'ofits  could,  of  course,  accrue 
to  the  Crown  from  Church  lands,  such  as  were  gathered 
from  lay  fiefs  in  the  form  of  reliefs,  a  jDaymeut  made 


Royal  Supremacy.  89 

by  tlio  liL'ii'  on  entering'  on  his  estate,  or  from  other 
Jeudal  Ijurdens  of  a  like  kind.  When,  tlicrefore,  a 
bishopric  or  royal  abbey  fell  vacaiit,  the  king,  to  com- 
pensate himself  for  the  disparity,  instead  of  causing  the 
property  to  be  administered  for  the  benefit  of  the  Church, 
entered  on  the  lands  and  treated  them  as  his  own.  It 
thus  becanie  his  interest  to  keep  sees  vacant  until  he  re- 
ceived a  large  sum  for  them.  Simony  grew  prevalent 
and  the  character  of  the  clergy  declined  ;  they  en- 
gaged in  secular  j^ursuits,  farmed  the  taxes,  and  sought 
in  all  ways  to  make  money.  After  the  death  of  Lan- 
franc  in  1089,  the  king  kept  the  ai'chbishopric  vacant, 
and  granted  the  lands  of  the  see  to  be  held  by  his 
friends  or  by  the  highest  bidder.  This  was  a  different 
matter  from  his  dealings  with  other  sees  ;  for  the  arch- 
bishop was  the  spiritual  head  of  the  nation,  and  con- 
stitutionally the  chief  adviser  of  the  king  and  the  fore- 
most member  of  his  court,  as  he  had  been  of  the 
witenagemot.  Accordingly  the  barons  saw  the  king's 
conduct  with  displeasure.  Rufus  was"  not  moved  by 
greediness  alone.  While  Lanfranc  lived  he  had  been 
forced  to  listen  to  his  remonstrances  with  respect,  and 
as  he  hated  reproof,  he  determined  not  to  appoint 
another  archbishop  as  long  as  he  could  avoid  doing 
so.  He  would,  he  declared  to  one  of  his  earls,  be  arch- 
bishop himself.  Neither  the  suffragan  bishops  nor  the 
monks  of  Christ  Church  dreamed  of  electing  without 
his  order,  and  each  year  the  state  of  the  Church  grew 
worse.  At  last  Rufus  fell  sick  and  was  like  to  die. 
Then  the  bishops  and  nobles  entreated  him,  for  his 
soul's  sake,  to  appoint  a  primate  and  do  other  works 
meet    for   repentance.       He  consented    willingly,   and 


90     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  A  ges. 

tliey  sent  for  Abbot  Anselm,   who  chanced  to  be  in 
England. 

Anselm  was  a  native  of  Aosta.  Born  and  bronght 
up  amid  the  cloud-capt  Alps,  he  longed  when  a  child 
to  climb  the  mountains  and  find  God's  house, 
archbishop,  which,  he  had  been  told,  was  in  the  clouds. 
1093  1109.  Q^^  night  he  dreamed  that  he  had  done 
so  and  had  found  the  palace  of  the  Great  King  :  he  sat 
at  the  Lord's  feet  and  told  Him  how  grieved  he  was 
that  His  handmaids  were  idling  in  the  harvest-fields 
below.  Then,  at  the  Lord's  bidding,  the  steward  of 
the  palace  gave  him  bread  of  the  purest  whiteness,  and 
he  ate  and  was  refreshed.  The  dream  is  told  us  by 
his  friend  and  biographer,  Eadmer,  who  no  doubt  heard 
it  from  his  own  lips.  It  was  prophetic  of  his  life  and 
character.  He  grew  up  studious  and  holy ;  his  learn- 
ing was  renowned  through  Europe,  and  by  Lanfranc's 
advice  he  entered  the  monastery  of  Bee,  and  became 
abbot  there.  He  visited  England  more  than  once, 
and  men  marvelled  to  see  how  the  stern  Conqueror 
became  gentle  when  he  was  by.  When  he  was  brought 
to  the  sick-bed  of  Bufus  he  received  his  confession  and 
urged  him  to  amend  his  life.  The  king,  who  thought 
that  he  was  dying,  promised  to  do  so,  and  his  lords 
begged  him  to  begin  by  naming  an  archbishop.  He 
raised  himself  in  his  bed,  and  pointing  to  Anselm,  said, 
"  I  name  yonder  holy  man."  There  seems  to  have  been 
no  form  of  election  5  the  king's  word  was  held  a  suffi- 
cient appointment.  Anselm  was  sorely  unwilling  to 
accept  the  ofiice ;  he  believed  that  the  king  would 
recover,  and  he  knew  his  evil  heart.  To  make  him 
archbishop  was,  he  said,  "  to  yoke  an  untamed  bull  and 


Royal  Supremacy.  91 

an  old  and  feeble  sheep  together."  He  told  Ilufus 
that  if  he  consented,  the  grants  made  during  the 
vacancy  of  the  lands  of  the  see  must  be  revoked,  and 
that  he  must  take  him  as  "  his  spiritual  father  and 
counsellor ; "  for  such  was  the  constitutional  position 
of  the  primate  with  respect  to  the  king.  Lastly,  he 
reminded  the  king  that  he  had  already  acknowledged 
Urban  II.  as  Pope ;  for  Rufus  had  not  yet  decided  be- 
tween the  two  claimants  for  the  papacy. 

Before    Anselm's   consecration   the  king  recovered, 
and  turned  back  to  his  evil  ways.      He  tried  to  make 

Ansolm  promise  that  he  would  not  reclaim 
bull  and  the     the  lands  of  the  see  which  he  had  granted 

out  as  knights'  fees.  To  this  Anselm  could 
not  agree,  for  he  would  not  lessen  the  property  of  his 
church.  Nevertheless  he  was  consecrated,  and  did 
homage  to  the  king,  as  the  custom  was.  Before  long 
Ilufus  wanted  money  for  an  expedition  against  Nor- 
mandy. The  archbishop  offered  ;^500.  Paifus  was 
advised  to  demand  a  larger  sum,  and  sent  the  money 
back.  His  demand  was  evidently  based  on  the  idea 
that  Anselm  owed  him  much  for  making  him  arch- 
bishop ;  and  Anselm,  though  willing  to  contribute  to 
the  king's  need,  rejoiced  that  now  no  one  could  assert 
that  he  had  made  a  simoniacal  payment,  and  gave  the 
money  to  the  poor.  When  Rufus  was  about  to  sail, 
Anselm  asked  to  be  allowed  to  hold  a  synod,  and  the 
wrathful  king  answered  him  with  jeers:  "What  will 
you  talk  about  in  your  council  ?  "  Anselm  fearlessly 
replied  that  he  would  speak  of  the  foul  vices  that  in- 
fected the  land,  and  named  the  special  vice  of  the  king 
and  his  court.     "  What  jjood  will  that  do  vou  ?  "  asked 


92     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

tbe  king.  "  If  it  does  me  no  good,"  was  tlie  answer, 
"  I  hope  it  will  do  something  for  God  and  for  you." 
He  prayed  him  to  fill  the  vacant  abbacies.  "  Tush  !  " 
said  the  king,  "  you  do  as  you  will  with  your  manors, 
and  may  I  not  do  what  I  will  with  my  abbeys  ?  "  In 
his  eyes  the  rights  of  a  patron  were  merely  the  rights 
of  a  lord  over  his  lands.  He  left  England  in  wrath 
with  the  archbishop.  Anselm  had  not  yet  received 
the  pall,  and  when  the  king  came  back  he  asked  leave 
to  go  and  fetch  it.  "  From  which  Pope  ?  "  demanded 
the  king ;  and  Anselm  answered,  "  From  Urban." 
Now,  though  Rufus  had  no  objection  to  acknowledge 
Urban,  he  did  not  choose  that  any  one  should  decide 
the  matter  save  himself.  He  took  his  stand  upon 
his  father's  rule,  and  the  rule  was  a  good  one,  for  the 
acknowledgment  of  a  Pope  was  a  matter  of  national 
policy.  His  fault  lay  in  refusing  to  make  his  choice 
out  of  a  sheer  love  of  tyranny.  A  meeting  of  the 
great  council  was  held  at  Rockingham  to  decide 
whether  Anselm  could  maintain  "  his  obedience  to 
the  Holy  See  without  violating  his  allegiance  to  his 
earthly  king."  The  king  most  unfairly  treated  him 
as  though  the  question  had  been  decided  against  him 
and  he  was  contumacious.  The  bishops  took  part 
against  him,  and  their  conduct  shows  how  deeply  the 
feudal  idea  had  sunk :  they  were  the  "  king's  bishops," 
and  their  counsel  was  due  to  him  and  not  to  their  metro- 
politan. William  of  Saint-Calais,  now  in  favour  again, 
even  advised  the  king  to  take  away  the  archbishop's  staff 
and  ring,  and  at  the  king's  bidding  the  bishops  renounced 
their  obedience  to  him.  The  nobles,  however,  would  not 
become  instruments  of  a  tyranny  that  might  strike  next 


Royal  Supremacy.  93 

at  themselves.  "  He  is  our  arclibisliop,"  they  said, 
"  and  the  rule  of  Christiauity  in  this  laud  is  his ;  and 
therefore  we  as  Christians  cannot,  as  long  as  we  live, 
renounce  his  authority,"  The  matter  was  adjourned  ; 
yet  it  was  something  that  tlie  tyrant  had  been  shown 
that  men  recognized  higher  laws  of  action  than  the 
feudal  principles  by  which  he  sought  to  make  Church 
and  State  alike  subservient  to  his  caprices. 

As  evil  ever  strives  to  master  good,  so  the  Red  King 
was  set  on  mastering  Anselm.  To  this  end  he  acknow- 
ledged Urban,  persuaded  him  in  return  to  send  the 
pall  to  him,  and  then  offered  the  legate  who  brought 
it  a  large  sum  for  the  Pope  if  he  would  depose  Anselm. 
When  the  legate  refused  his  offer,  he  tried  to  make 
Anselm  give  him  money  for  the  pall.  In  this,  of  course, 
he  failed,  and  the  pall  was  placed  by  the  legate  on  the 
high  altar  of  Canterbury  Minster,  whence  Anselm  took 
it.  The  next  year  the  king  found  a  new  cause  of 
quarrel ;  the  military  tenants  of  the  archbishopric  serv- 
ing in  the  Welsh  war  were  badly  equipped,  and  he 
bade  Anselm  be  ready  to  answer  for  it  in  his  court. 
Anselm  then  petitioned  to  be  allowed  to  go  to  Home, 
and  urged  his  request  in  spite  of  the  king's  repeated 
refusals.  His  case  was  discussed  at  a  meeting  of  the 
great  council  at  AVinchester.  In  persisting  in  his 
demand  against  the  will  of  the  king  he  was  certainly 
acting  contrary  to  the  customs  of  the  kingdom,  and  he 
was,  if  not  in  words,  at  least  in  fact,  appealing  to  the 
Pope  against  the  king.  At  the  same  time,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  he  had  none  to  help  him,  and  that 
he  naturally  turned  to  Rome  as  the  place  of  strength 
and  refreshment  in  his  troubles.      The  bishops  plainly 


94     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  A  ges. 

told  liim  :  "  We  know  tliat  you  are  a  holy  man,  and 
that  your  conversation  is  in  Heaven ;  but  we  confess 
that  we  are  hampered  by  our  relations  whom  we  sup- 
port, and  by  our  love  of  the  manifold  affairs  of  the 
world,  and  cannot  rise  to  the  height  of  your  life." 
Would  he  descend  to  their  level  ?  "  Ye  have  said 
well,"  he  answered ;  "go,  then,  to  your  lord.  I  will 
hold  me  to  God."  Nor  were  the  nobles  on  his  side. 
At  Rockingham  his  demand  was  in  accordance  with 
the  customs  of  the  realm  ;  here  the  case  was  different. 
Rufus  declared  that  he  might  go,  but  that  if  he  went 
he  would  seize  the  archbishopric.  He  went,  and  the 
kinff  did  as  he  had  said.  Urban  received  the  arch- 
bishop  magnificently,  styling  him  the  "  pope  and  patri- 
arch of  another  world,"  and  promising  to  help  him. 
Council  of  ^t  the  Council  of  Bari  the  Pope  called  on 
Bari,  1098.  j^^j^  ^Q  defend  the  Catholic  faith  against  the 
Greek  heresy.  His  speech  delighted  the  council ;  the 
conduct  of  Rufus  was  discussed,  and  it  was  decided 
that  he  ousrht  to  be  excommunicated.  Anselm,  how- 
ever,  interceded  for  him,  and  his  intercession  availed. 
Although  Urban  in  public  spoke  severely  enough  to 
a  bishop  whom  Rufus  sent  to  plead  his  cause,  he  talked 
more  mildly  in  private ;  money  was  freely  spent 
among  the  papal  counsellors,  and  a  day  of  grace  was 
given  to  the  king.  It  is  scarcely  too  much  to  say 
that  Anselm's  cause  was  sold.  He  was  present  at 
the  Lateran  Council  in  1099,  where  he  heard  sentence 
of  excommunication  decreed  against  all  who  conferred 
or  received  investiture  ;  his  wrongs  were  spoken  of 
with  indignation,  but  nothing  was  done  to  I'edress 
them.      He  left  Rome  convinced  that  he  could  never 


Royal  Supremacy.  95 

return  to  England  while  Puifns  lived,  and  was  dwelling 
at  Lyons  when  he  heard  of  the  king's  death. 

In  the  first  clause  of  the  charter  in  which  Henry  I. 
declared  the  abolition  of  the  abuses  introduced  by 
llufus  we  read  that  he  made  "  God's  holy 
Church  free  ; "  he  would  "  not  sell  it  nor 
put  it  to  farm,"  and  he  would  take  nothing  from  the 
demesne  of  bishopric  or  abbacy  during  a  vacancy.  He 
invited  Ansclra  to  return,  and  welcomed  him  joyfully. 
When,  however,  he  called  on  him  to  do  him  homage 
on  the  restoration  of  his  lands  which  Rufus  had  seized, 
Anselm  refused ;  for  he  had  laid  to  heart  what  he  had 
heard  at  the  Lateran  council.  It  is  evident  that  per- 
sonally he  had  no  objection  to  perform  these  acts, 
which  he  had  already  done  to  Rufus.  His  objection 
arose  from  the  fact  that  they  were  now  forbidden. 
Rome  had  spoken,  and  he  felt  bound  to  obey.  As 
the  question  of  Investitures  forms  the  subject  of  a 
separate  volume  of  this  series,  it  will  be  enough  to 
say  here  that  the  conveyance  of  the  temporalities  of 
a  see  was  regarded  in  the  feudal  state  as  the  chief 
thing  in  the  appointment  of  a  bishop,  who  received 
investiture  of  his  office  by  taking  the  ring  and  crozier 
from  the  hands  of  the  king — a  ceremony  which  en- 
couraged the  feudalization  of  the  Church  and  gave 
occasion  for  many  abuses.  At  the  same  time,  it  was 
by  no  means  desirable  that  a  prelate  should  hold  wide 
lands  and  jurisdictions  without  entering  into  the  pledge 
of  personal  loyalty  required  of  other  lords.  With  the 
abstract  side  of  the  question,  however,  Anselm  was  not 
concerned.  With  him  it  was  a  matter  of  obedience, 
and  he  held  that  he  was  bound  to  obey  the  Pope  rather 


g6     The  English  Church  in  the  IT i dole  Ages. 

than  tlie  law  of  the  land.  For  the  king's  demand  was 
justified  by  the  custom  of  England,  and  it  was  on  this 
that  he  took  his  stand.  "  What,"  he  said,  "  has  the 
Pope  to  do  with,  my  rights  ?  Those  that  my  pre- 
decessors possessed  in  this  realm  are  mine."  Anselm 
would  neither  do  homage  nor  consecrate  the  bishops 
elect  who  had  received  investiture.  Yet  the  dispute  was 
conducted  with  moderation  on  both  sides.  The  arch- 
bishop in  person  brought  his  men  to  defend  the  king 
against  the  invasion  of  Kobert ;  he  forwarded  Henry's 
marriage  and  crowned  his  queen  ;  while  Henry,  even 
during  the  progress  of  the  dispute,  authorized  him  to 
hold  a  synod  and  sanctioned  its  decrees.  Stern  as  the 
king  was,  he  loved  order  and  justice,  and  his  conduct 
presents  a  striking  contrast  to  the  conduct  of  his 
brother. 

The  closer  relations  with  Eome  introduced  by  the 
Conquest  compelled  the  king  to  attempt  to  gain  the 
Pope's  agreement  to  the  English  law.  Paschal  II., 
while  bound  to  abide  by  the  decision  of  the  Lateran 
council,  was  evidently  unwilling  to  alienate  the  king, 
and  seems  to  have  temporized.  At  last  Anselm  went 
to  Eome,  at  the  request  of  the  king  and  the  nobles,  who 
no  doubt  hoped  that  he  would  learn  there  that  the  Pope 
was  scarcely  whole-hearted  in  the  matter.  His  pre- 
sence, however,  seems  to  have  stirred  Paschal  to  give 
the  king's  envoy  a  flat  refusal.  Henry  then  took  the 
archbishopric  into  his  hands,  and  Anselm  remained 
abroad.  During  his  absence  the  king  embarked  on  a 
piece  of  ecclesiastical  administration.  His  constant 
want  of  money  led  him  to  levy  a  fine  on  all  the  clergy 
who  had  disobeyed  the  decree  of  Anselm's  council  by 


Royal  Supremacy.  97 

neglecting  to  put  away  their  wives ;  and,  finding  the 
sum  less  than  he  calculated,  he  demanded  a  payment 
from  every  parish  church.  About  two  hundred  priests, 
in  their  roLes,  waited  on  him  barefoot,  and  prayed  him 
to  release  them  from  this  demand  without  success.  At 
last,  in  1 1 07,  the  question  of  investitures  was  arranged 
between  the  king  and  the  Pope,  and  the  arrangement 
was  sanctioned  by  a  great  council  at  London.  The 
king  gave  up  the  investiture,  and  in  return  his  right 
to  homage  was  acknowledged.  He  may  be  said  to 
have  surrendered  the  shadow  and  to  have  secured  the 
substance.  While  the  chapters  were  allowed  to  choose 
the  bishops,  they  were  to  exercise  their  right  at  the 
king's  court,  where,  of  course,  they  were  subject  to  his 
influence.  Anselm  again  received  the  temporalities, 
and  the  vacant  bishoprics  were  filled  up.  Through- 
out the  dispute  the  clergy  remained  loyal  to  the  king 
in  his  struggle  with  the  feudal  lords,  and  the  affairs  of 
the  Church  went  on  as  usual.  The  speedy  and  satis- 
factory settlement  of  a  question  that  agitated  the 
Empire  for  half  a  century,  and  the  moderate  spirit  in 
which  it  was  debated,  were  mainly  due  to  the  character 
of  the  king  ;  for  Henry  was  a  statesman  of  fertile 
genius,  and,  unlike  llufus,  acted  on  well-defined  prin- 
ciples. He  was  willing  to  grant  the  exact  amount  of 
freedom  of  action  that  seemed  necessary  to  orderly 
development,  while,  at  the  same  time,  he  kept  that 
freedom  in  strict  subordination  to  his  own  supre- 
macy. 

Acting  on  these  principles,  he  allowed  councils  to 
be  held,  though,  like  his  father,  he  made  ecclesiastical 
legislation  dependent   on  his  sanction.     At  Anselm's 
C.  H.  Q 


98     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  A  ges. 

synod,    held   at  Westminster  in    1102,  a   return  was 

made  to  the  old  English  custom  of  the  joint  action  of 

the  clergy  and  laity ;   for  the  nobles  took  part   in   it 

along  with  the  bishops  and  abbots.       The 

Synodical  acti-  .  t      i  ,•  n       •  ,^ 

vity  under  suspension  01  synodicai  action  during  the 
reign  of  Rufus  had  weakened  the  authority 
of  the  Church,  and  it  was  thought  advisable  that  both 
orders  should  act  together  in  legislation.  The  first  canon 
marks  the  growth  of  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  conse- 
quent on  the  separation  of  the  courts.  Archdeacons 
had  now  become  judicial  officers  over  distinct  terri- 
torial divisions,  and  as  the  profits  of  their  courts  were 
considerable,  it  became  necessary  to  decree  that  they 
should  not  be  farmed.  An  advance  was  made  on 
Laufranc's  legislation  on  clerical  marriage ;  married 
priests  and  deacons  were  now  ordered  to  put  away 
their  wives,  an  order  which,  as  we  have  seen,  was 
widely  disregarded  ;  no  married  man  was  to  be  ad- 
mitted to  the  subdiaconate ;  tithes  were  not  to  be 
paid  except  to  churches,  and  several  decrees  were 
made  for  the  maintenance,  dress,  and  general  conduct 
of  the  clergy.  Another  national  council,  held  in 
1 127,  sat  in  the  church  of  Westminster  while  the 
king  held  his  court  in  the  palace  ;  just  as  now  the 
Convocation  of  the  Province  of  Canterbury  and  the 
High  Court  of  Parliament  are  summoned  to  meet  at 
the  same  time  at  Westminster. 

Henry,  like  his  father,  aimed  at  establishing  per- 
fect harmony  between  Church  and  State,  keeping  both 

alike  in  absolute  dependence  upon  himself. 

Accordingly    he    resisted    any    unauthorized 
interference  on  the  part  of  the  Pope  with  the  affairs  of 


Royal  Supremacy.  99 

tho  Church.  Early  in  tho  reign  a  Bargundian  arch- 
bishop landed  here  withont  invitation,  claiming  lega- 
tine  authority  over  tho  whole  kingdom.  His  claim 
was  pronounced  "  unheard  of."  Although  the  Con- 
queror had  invited  the  Pope  to  send  him  legates  for 
a  specified  purpose,  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury  was 
held  to  be  the  permanent  representative  of  the  Holy 
See  in  England,  a  Irgatus  natus,  whose  authority  was 
not  to  be  superseded  by  a  special  legate,  or  Icgatus  a 
latere.  No  one  acknowledged  the  legate's  authority, 
and  "  he  went  back,"  Eadmer  remarks,  "  as  he  came." 
A  more  serious  attempt  to  override  the  rights  of  the 
Church  was  made  in  the  time  of  Anselm's  successor, 
Ralph.  The  king  was  in  Normandy,  and  when  it 
became  known  that  a  legate,  Anselm's  nephew  and 
namesake,  was  on  his  way  hither,  the  bishops  and 
nobles  of  the  kingdom  met  in  council,  and  sent  Ralph 
over  to  Henry  to  request  that  he  "  would  bring  the  inno- 
vation to  nought,"  and  the  king  prevented  the  legate 
Anselm  from  landing.  In  the  time  of  tlie  next  arch- 
bishop, William  of  Corbeuil,  Henry  was,  for  political 
reasons,  anxious  to  stand  well  with  Rome,  and  ac- 
cordingly admitted  into  tho  kingdom  a  legato  from 
Honorius  II.,  named  John  of  Crema.  Men  saw  with 
indignation  that  this  legate  sat  in  the  highest  seat 
in  tho  metropolitan  church,  and  said  mass  in  the 
archbishop's  stead,  clad  in  episcopal  vestments,  though 
he  was  only  a  priest ;  "  for  both  England  and  other 
countries  knew  that,  from  St.  Augustin  onwards,  the 
archbishops  were  held  to  be  primates  and  patriarchs, 
and  were  never  made  subject  to  a  Roman  legate."  At 
the    same   time,   though    John    occupied    the    seat   of 


100    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

honour  at  the  council  of  1 125,  the  summons  ran  in 
the  name  of  the  archbishop  and  the  decrees  wei'e 
confirmed  bj  the  king.  While,  then,  the  Crown,  the 
English  Church,  and  the  jDapal  representative  acted 
concurrently,  the  royal  authority  was  saved.  It  was 
not  so  with  the  see  of  Canterbury  or  with  the  national 
interests  it  represented,  and  the  archbishop  went 
to  Eome  to  complain  of  the  injury  done  to  his 
see.  Honorius  silenced  his  complaints  by  giving 
him  a  legatine  commission,  a  measure  which,  while 
gratifying  William  personally,  lessened  the  inhe- 
rent dignity  of  his  see  and  the  independence  of  the 
Church. 

,  In  spite  of  various  efforts,  the  archbishops  of  York 
had  hitherto  been  unable  to  evade  the  profession  of 
Thurstan,  obedienco  to  Canterbury.  Thurstan,  the 
of^Yoi^l'^P  fourth  since  the  Conquest,  was  a  man  of 
1119-1140.  different  mould  from  his  predecessors,  and 
refused  to  make  the  profession.  Archbishop  Ralph 
accordingly  refused  to  consecrate  him,  and  the  king  up- 
held the  right  of  the  primatial  see,  bidding  Thurstan  do 
what  was  due  according  to  ancient  usage.  Thurstan 
was  encouraged  in  his  revolt  by  Popes  Paschal  II.  and 
Calixtus  II.,  who  treated  it  as  a  good  opportunity  for 
a  covert  attack  on  the  greatness  of  the  English  primate. 
The  see  of  York  remained  vacant  for  about  five  years. 
At  last  Thurstan  obtained  leave  from  the  king  to  attend 
the  council  held  by  Calixtus  at  Rheims,  promising 
that  he  would  not  accept  consecration  from  the  Pope, 
while  Calixtus  undertook  that  he  would  do  nothing 
to  the  prejudice  of  the  see  of  Canterbury.  Never- 
theless Thurstan  received  consecration  from  Calixtus, 


Royal  Supremacy.  ioi 

and  so  escaped  making  the  profession.  Henry  refused 
to  allow  liim  to  return  to  England  ;  and  the  next  Pope, 
Honorius  II.,  seems  to  have  actually  declared  the  king- 
dom under  an  interdict,  though  the  sentence  was  not 
published  here.  The  dispute  went  on  for  some  years, 
and  the  old  question  appears  even  now  to  excite  the 
local  patriotism  of  some  of  the  clergy  of  York.  Yet  it 
can  scarcely  be  denied  that  Thurstan  sacrificed  the  in- 
terests of  the  national  Church  to  the  aefofrandizement 
of  his  see,  and  that  both  he  and  Calixtus  got  the 
better  of  the  king  by  a  somewhat  discreditable  trick. 
York  was  freed  for  ever  from  the  obligation  of  obedi- 
ence by  a  bull  of  Calixtus. 

One   phase  of  the  quarrel  between  Canterbury  and 

York  concerned  the  Scottish  bishops.      On  a  vacancy 

of  the  see  of  St.  Andrews,  Alexander,  king  of 

Scottish  /  -r,    1    1       ^  -^ 

and  Welsh        bcots,  was  luduced  to  Write  to  Kalph  oi  Lan- 

bishoprics.  ,  .  ,  .  , 

terbury,  asking  hini  to  recommend  a  new 
bishop,  and  reminding  him  that  the  bishops  of  St. 
Andrews  were  always  consecrated  by  the  Pope  or  the 
archbishop  of  Canterbury,  which  was,  of  course,  the  re- 
verse of  the  truth,  for  they  were  suffragans  of  York. 
Ralph  highly  approved  of  this  new  doctrine,  and  in 
course  of  time  Eadmer,  the  historian,  a  monk  of  Canter- 
bury, was  duly  elected.  Meanwhile,  however,  Alexander 
had  changed  his  mind,  and  commanded  Eadmer  to 
receive  consecration  from  Thurstan.  This  he  refused 
to  do,  for  he  was  heart  and  soul  a  Canterbury  man, 
and  after  much  disputing,  he  was  forced  to  return 
to  his  convent  unconsecrated.  Tlie  dispute  between 
Canterbury  and  York  encouraged  some  of  the  Scottish 
bishops  to  revolt  against  Thurstan,  whose  authority  was 


102    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

uplield  by  Calixtus.  This  quarrel  is  memorable  because 
the  Pope  accepted  Thurstan's  theory  that  the  king 
of  Scots  was  the  man  of  the  king  of  England  for  Scot- 
land, and  not,  as  the  Scots  held,  merely  for  Lothian 
or  any  other  fief:  in  other  words,  he  declared  Scot- 
land a  vassal  kingdom,  a  decision  that  became  of 
importance  later  on.  The  question  of  canonical  sub- 
jection was  debated  between  St.  Andrews  and  York, 
until,  in  Ii88,  Clement  III.  declared  the  Scottish 
Church  immediately  dependent  on  the  Holy  See.  The 
upshot  of  these  disputes  was,  that  the  archbishops  of 
Canterbury  ceased  to  be  the  "  primates  and  patriarchs 
of  Britain,"  for  York  was  freed  from  dependence  upon 
them,  and  their  attempt  to  extend  their  jurisdiction 
over  Scotland  utterly  failed.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
authority  of  Canterbury  was  established  in  Wales  by 
the  election  to  the  see  of  St.  David's  of  the  Norman 
Bernard,  who  received  consecration  from  Archbishop 
Balph,  and  made  profession  to  him. 

The  ecclesiastical  system  of  the  Norman  kings  may 
be  summed  up  as  a  generally  successful  attempt  to 
give  the  Church  power  of  action  apart  from 
the  State,  so  far  as  was  consistent  with  the 
supremacy  of  the  Crown.  Under  E-ufus  this  system 
became  a  mere  means  of  tyranny ;  and  among  the 
many  glories  that  attend  the  memory  of  St.  Anselm, 
not  the  least  is  that  he  delivered  the  Church  from  the 
domination  of  the  feudal  idea,  which  would  have 
destroyed  her  spirituality  and  left  her  helpless  before 
the  royal  power.  By  the  Conqueror  and  Henry  I. 
the  supremacy  was  used  to  establish  harmony  of  action 
between  Church  and  State,  and  to  preserve  the  national 


Royal  Supremacy.  103 

character  of  tho  Church.  Nevertheless  the  new  rela- 
tions with  Home  introduced  by  the  Conquest  began  to 
bear  fruit  in  Henry's  time,  for  on  all  occasions,  both 
by  tho  grant  of  legatine  commissions  and  by  uphold- 
ing the  pretensions  of  York,  the  Popes  strove  to 
depress  the  priraatial  see  and  to  increase  their  own 
authority  in  England. 

Although  Henry  had  none  of  the  brutal  con- 
tempt fur  law  that  distinguished  his  brother,  he  was 
not  less  despotic,  and  his  policy  towards  the  Church 
differed  from  that  pursued  by  his  father  in  that, 
while  the  Conqueror  made  her  co-ordinate  under  him- 
self with  the  State,  he  degraded  her  to  the  position 
of  a  servant.  He  kept  the  see  of  Canterbury 
vacant  for  five  years  after  the  death  of  Ansel  m  ;  all 
ecclesiastical  matters  were  governed  by  political  or 
personal  considerations  rather  than  with  an  eye  to  the 
true  interests  of  the  Church,  and  Henry  was  not 
above  making  money  from  ecclesiastical  appointments. 
His  chief  adviser  was  Roger,  bishop  of  Salisbury, 
an  able  minister  and  a  magnificent  noble,  who  owed 
his  preferment  to  his  administrative  talents ;  for 
Henry  employed  clerical  ministers,  partly  because 
he  was  thus  enabled  to  secure  men  who  had  received 
a  regular  official  training  as  royal  clerks,  and  partly, 
no  doubt,  because  their  celibacy  made  it  less  likely 
that  they  would  put  their  authority  to  a  dangerous 
use.  He  rewarded  them  with  bishoprics  and  other 
preferments,  and  thus  secularized  the  Church  in 
order  to  make  her  serve  the  State.  At  the  same 
time,    his   reign    saw   the    begiuuing   of  a    movement 


104    1^^^  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

that  was  destined  to  revive  lier  spiritual  character, 
and  by  that  revival  to  increase  her  power  and  dig- 
nity. This  quickened  influence  was  due  to  the  higher 
life  that  followed  the  introduction  of  the  Cistercian 
rule.    . 


(     105     ) 


CHAPTER  VI. 
CLERICAL  PRETENSIONS. 

STEPHEN  AND  THE  ENGLISH  CHURCH — ARCHBISHOP  THEOBALD 
AND  HENRY  OP  WINCHESTER — THOilAS  THE  CHANCELLOR — 
THE  SCUTAGE  OF  TOULOUSE — THOMAS  THE  ARCHBISHOP — 
CLERICAL  IMMUNITY — THE  ARCHBISHOP  IN  EXILE — HIS  MAR- 
TYRDOM— henry's  general  RELATIONS  TO  THP:  CHURCH — 
CONQUEST  OP  IRELAND  —  RICHARD's  CRUSADE — LONGCHAMP 
■ — ARCHBISHOP  HUBERT  WALTER  —  CHARACTER  OF  THE 
CLERGY. 

Under  the  Norman  dynasty  the  natural  results  of 
the  Conqueror's  ecclesiastical  policy  were  controlled 
ste  hen's  ^^  ^^®  power  of  the  Crown.  Appeals  to 
accession,  Kome  Were  almost  unknown ;  the  principles 
which  the  Conqueror  had  laid  down  as  defin- 
ing the  relations  between  the  Crown  and  the  papacy 
were  maintained,  and  the  establishment  of  ecclesiastical 
courts  had  not  as  yet  proved  mischievous ;  for  in  all 
serious  cases  the  criminous  clerk,  after  having  been 
degraded  by  the  spiritual  judge,  was  handed  over  to 
the  secular  authority.  Under  a  weak  king,  and  then 
during  a  period  of  anarchy,  the  Church  became  invested 
with  extraordinary  power;  her  relations  with  Rome  were 
increased,  and  new  privileges  were  asserted  which 
became  dangerous  to  civil  order.     The  weakness  in 


io6    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

Stephen's  title  was  a  moral  one,  for  be  and  tlie  nobles 
of  the   kingdom   were   pledged  by  oath  to   Matilda. 
His  right  then  depended  on  a  question  that  especially 
concerned  the   Church  ;    and  though  he  had  received 
civil  election,  Archbishop  William  hesitated  to  crown 
him.      His  scruples  were  overcome,  and  the  approval 
of   the    Church    was    secured    by    Henry,   bishop    of 
Winchester,  Stephen's  brother.      Stephen  was  crowned, 
after  swearing  to  maintain  the  liberty  of  the  Church, 
and  put  forth  a  charter  promising  good    government 
in    general    terms.     The    next    year,  at   Oxford,   the 
bishops  swore  fealty  to  him   "  as  long  as   he  should 
maintain  the  liberty  and  discipline  of  the  Church,"  a 
ceremony  that  may  be  described  as  a  separate  election 
by   the    Church,    dependent    on    the    king's    conduct 
towards  her.      Stephen,  who  had   received  a  letter  of 
congratulation    from    Innocent   II,,  now  put   forth    a 
charter    in   which    he    recited    his  claims.      As  king 
by  the  grace  of  God,  elected  by  the  clergy  and  people, 
hallowed    by    William,    archbishop    and    legate,    and 
"confirmed  by  Innocent,  pontiff  of  the  Holy  Eoman 
See,"  he  promised  that  he  would  avoid  simony,   and 
that    the   persons    and   property  of  clerks    should   be 
under    the    jurisdiction    of   their    bishops.      Thus,    in 
order    to    strengthen   his   position,    he  not  only  gave 
prominence   to  the   assent   of  the   Church,    but    even 
cited  the  approval  of  the  Pope,  as  though  it  conferred 
some   special  validity  on  the  national  election.      This 
was,  under  the    circumstances,  the    natural   result  of 
Duke   William's    petition   that    Eome  would  sanction 
his    invasion,    and    justified    Hildebrand's    policy    in 
espousing  his  cause. 


Clerical  Pretensioss.  107 

For  a  wliilo  the  Church  remained  faithful  to  Stephen. 
The  statesmen-bishops,  Roger,  the  justiciar,   and  his 
nephews,  the  bishop  of  Ely,  the  treasurer, 
tho  staiidiud,    and  the    bishop  of  Lincoln,  together   with 
"^  ■  Bishop  Roger's  sou,  also  called  Roger,  the 

chancellor,  continued  to  carry  on  the  administration. 
In  the  north  a  Scottish  invasion  was  checked  by  the 
energy  of  the  aged  Archbishop  Thurstan,  who  from 
his  sick-bed  stirred  the  Yorkshire  men  to  meet  the 
invaders.  He  was  represented  in  the  camp  by  his 
suffragan,  the  bishop  of  the  Orkneys,  The  standard  of 
the  English  army  bore  aloft  the  Host,  and  the  figures 
of  the  patron  saints  of  the  three  great  Yorkshire 
churches,  and  the  "  Battle  of  the  Standard,"  in  which 
the  Yorkshire  men  were  completely  victorious,  had 
something  of  the  character  of  a  Holy  War,  in  which 
the  archbishop  acted,  as  of  old,  as  the  natural  head  of 
the  northern  people. 

The  mischievous  results  of  the  appointment  of 
Archbishop  William  as  legate  were  apparent  at  his 
death ;  for  Innocent  granted  a  legatine  commission, 
not  to  his  successor,  Theobald,  but  to  Henry  of  Win- 
chester. The  authority  of  the  see  of  Canterbury  was 
thus  grievously  diminished,  and  the  archbishop  was 
made  second  to  a  resident  representative  of  the  Pope, 
one  of  his  own  suffragans.  The  abasement  of  Canter- 
bury naturally  drew  the  Church  into  greater  depend- 
ence on  Rome,  and  appeals,  which  had  hitherto 
been  almost  unknown,  became  of  constant 
quarrel  with  occurrcnce.  Equally  unlike  tho  justiciar, 
""  ■  Roger  of  Salisbury,  who  devoted  himself 
to    secular    administration    and    ambitions,    and    the 


io8    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

cliurclimen  who,  full  of  tlie  new  fervour  of  tlie  Cis- 
tercian movement,  sought  to  raise  the  spiritual  dignity 
of  the  Church,  Henry  of  Winchester  used  his  vast 
powers  to  exalt  her  temporal  greatness.  His  jealousy 
for  the  privileges  of  the  clergy  brought  him  into  colli- 
sion with  the  king,  who  now  by  an  act  of  extreme  folly 
provoked  a  quarrel  with  the  clerical  order.  Stephen 
suspected  the  loyalty  of  the  bishop  of  Salisbury  and 
his  house,  and  caused  him  and  the  bishop  of  Lincoln 
to  be  arrested  at  Oxford.  They  were  powerful  lords 
and  had  reared  several  mighty  castles.  These  they 
were  forced  to  surrender  by  threats  and  ill-treatment. 
Stephen  acted  with  the  violence  of  a  weak  man ;  he 
had  already  lost  the  obedience  of  the  barons,  and  the 
people  must  have  learnt  that  his  promises  were  not  to 
be  relied  on ;  now  he  ensured  his  fall  by  offending  the 
clergy.  The  legate  summoned  him  to  appear  before 
a  synod  at  Winchester,  and  the  king  of  England 
actually  appeared  by  his  counsellor,  Alberic  de  Vere, 
who  made  his  defence.  When  he  refused  to  restore 
the  bishops'  castles  there  was  some  talk  of  laying 
the  case  before  the  Pope.  This  he  forbade,  and  yet 
appealed  to  Rome  himself.  At  last  he  appeared 
before  the  legate  stripped  of  his  royal  robes,  and 
humbly  received  his  censure  "  for  having  stretched 
out  his  hand  against  the  Lord's  anointed  ones." 
Xevei-theless  the  Church  was  alienated  from  him, 
and  after  his  defeat  at  Lincoln  the  legate  held  another 
council  at  Winchester,  and  announced  as  its  result 
that  the  majority  of  the  clergy,  "  to  whom  the  right 
of  electing  a  prince  chiefly  belonged,"  had  decided 
to    transfer    their    allegiance   to    the    Empress.      The 


Clerical  Pretensions.  109 

legate  found  that  Matilda  had  little  respect  for  the 
rights  of  the  Church,  and  after  a  while  turned  against 
her.  The  result  of  these  rapid  changes  was  to  destroy 
the  unity  of  the  clerical  party. 

Hitherto  Archbishop  Theobald  had  generally  fol- 
lowed the  legate's  lead,  and  had  played  a  secondary 
The  dispute  P^^'^  ^^  t^®  affairs  of  the  Church.  In 
btTiopricor'^  1 141,  however,  a  cause  of  difference  arose 
York.  between  them.      The  York  chapter  elected 

Stephen's  nephew,  William,  to  succeed  Archbishop 
Thurstan.  A  minority  of  the  chapter  declared  that 
simony  and  undue  influence  had  been  practised,  and 
Theobald  took  their  part,  while  Henry  consecrated  his 
nephew  in  spite  of  him.  Anxious  to  put  his  power 
beyond  the  reach  of  fortune,  the  bishop  of  Winchester 
petitioned  the  Pope  to  make  his  see  a  third  archbishop- 
ric. His  request  was  refused,  and  his  legatine  com- 
mission expired  in  1 143,  with  the  death  of  Innocent, 
the  Pope  who  had  granted  it.  Chief  among  the 
opponents  of  the  new  archbishop  of  York  were  the 
Cistercian  abbeys  of  the  north  ;  and  Bernard,  abbot  of 
Clairvaux,  the  head  of  the  order,  who  was  the  guid- 
ing spirit  of  the  papacy  at  this  time,  threw  all  his 
weight  on  their  side.  He  disapproved  of  the  diminu- 
tion of  the  rights  of  Canterbury,  and  held  that,  in 
securing  the  see  of  York  for  their  nephew,  Stephen 
and  Henry  were  injuring  the  Church  to  serve  their 
own  ends.  Eugenius  III.  accordingly  gave  the  lega- 
tine commission  to  Theobald.  Enraged  at  the  opposi- 
tion offered  to  Archbishop  William  by  Henry  IMurdac, 
abbot  of  Fountains,  his  partizans  sacked  and  burnt 
the  abbey.     As  an  answer  to  this  outrage,  Eugenius 


1 10    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  A  ges. 

deprived  William,  and  Murdac  was  elected  arclibisliop 
by  his  autliority,  and  received  consecration  from  him. 
Stephen  and  Henry  made  a  fatal  mistake  in  matching 
themselves  against  the  papacy,  with  Bernard  and  the 
whole  Cistercian  order  at  its  back.  They  did  nob 
yield  without  a  further  struggle.  Stephen  forbade 
Theobald  to  attend  the  Pope's  Council  at  Eheims  in 
1 148.  In  spite  of  this  prohibition  he  went  to  Rheims. 
Stephen  banished  him  and  seized  his  temporalities, 
until  an  interdict  was  laid  upon  the  royal  lands,  and 
he  was  forced  to  be  reconciled  to  him.  Murdac  made 
his  position  good  at  York.  His  rival,  William,  out- 
lived him,  was  re-elected,  and  died  a  month  after  he 
had  received  the  pall.  During  his  retirement  he  led 
a  holy  and  humble  life,  and  after  his  death  became 
the  special  saint  of  his  church.  Stephen  had  one 
more  quarrel  with  Archbishop  Theobald.  He  desired 
to  have  his  son  Eustace,  an  evil  and  violent  man, 
crowned  as  his  successor.  This  was  forbidden  by 
the  Pope,  and  the  primate  and  his  suffragans  refused 
the  king's  request.  He  tried  to  frighten  them  by 
shutting  them  in  the  house  where  they  were  consult- 
ing. The  archbishop  escaped  across  the  Thames  in 
a  boat,  and  went  abroad,  and  the  king  again  seized 
the  temporalities  of  the  see. 

Unlike  Henry  of  Winchester,  Theobald  was  guided 
by  the  new  ideas  which  were  born  of  the  Cistercian 
revival.  While  desire  for  the  secular  great- 
Archbishop,  ness  of  the  Church,  her  splendour  and  her 
1139  II  I.  -v^realth,  led  Henry  to  scheme  and  change 
sides  according  as  he  found  Stephen  or  the  Empress 
acting  against  her  interests,  Theobald  sought  a  higher 


Clerical  Pre  tensions.  i  i  i 

power  for  Ler,  and  attached  himself  to  Bernard,  who 
ruled  Christendom  by  his  sanctity  and  his  intellectual 
gifts.  Theobald's  household  was  the  home  of  a  little 
society  of  men  of  like  mind  with  himself.  One  of 
tht^m  was  a  young  clerk  of  London,  named  Thomas, 
who  soon  became  his  chief  adviser ;  another  was  John 
of  Salisbury,  wdio  held  a  new  office,  that  of  the  arch- 
bishop's secretary,  or,  as  he  would  be  called  now,  his 
chancellor  ;  for  Theobald  saw  that  the  archdeacons  were 
by  no  means  trustworthy  officers,  and  appointed  a  secre- 
tary to  control  the  administration  of  ecclesiastical  law. 
This  was  a  matter  in  which  he  took  a  deep  interest, 
and  the  frequent  appeals  that  were  now  made  to  Rome 
gave  it  a  special  importance.  In  1 1 49  he  brought 
over  from  Italy  a  doctor  named  Vacarius,  and  set  him 
study  of  civil  to  give  Icctures  at  Oxford  on  the  civil 
^■"^'  law,   which    supplied    the    method   of  pro- 

cedure in  ecclesiastical  cases.  In  the  next  reign  the 
study  of  the  canon  law,  which  was  first  systematized 
by  Gratian  of  Bologna,  was  introduced  into  England, 
and  then  the  clergy  had  a  code  as  well  as  a  method 
of  procedui-e  of  their  own.  Stephen  sent  Vacarius 
out  of  the  country,  probably  because  he  hated  new 
things  ;  but  the  study  of  the  civil  law  could  not  be 
stopped  so  easily. 

With  aims  and  interests  such  as  these,  Theobald  had 
no  desire  to  see  the  anarchy  which  is  generally  called 
Stephen's  reign  prolonged.  How  terrible  in  some  parts 
that  anarchy  was,  when  men  "said  openly  that  Christ  and 
His  saints  slept,"  need  not  be  described  here.  Some 
of  the  bishops  rode  to  war  and  behaved  like  lay 
barons ;  others  were  held  back  bv  fear  from  censuring 


112    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

the  ungodly.  Nevertheless  the  Church  still  exhibited 
a  pattern  of  order,  and  strove  to  restore  peace  to 
the  kiug-dom.  Although  Theobald  entered  into  no 
schemes  for  dethroning  Stephen,  he  was  fully  con- 
vinced of  the  importance  of  securing  the  succession, 
for  Henry  of  Anjou.  His  counsellor,  Thomas,  now 
archdeacon  of  Canterbury,  was  urgent  on  the  same 
side,  and  they  were  at  last  joined  in  their  efforts  after 
peace  by  Henry  of  Winchester.  The  chief  obstacle 
was  removed  by  the  death  of  Eustace,  and  the  Treaty 
of  Wallingford  soon  followed.  Henry  II.  owed  his 
throne  in  no  small  degree  to  the  support  of  the 
clergy. 

The  young  king  chose  for  his  chancellor  Thomas, 
the  archdeacon,  to  whose  good  offices  he  was  much 
Thomas  the  indebted.  Thomas's  father,  Gilbert  Becket, 
chanceUor.  ^  wealthy  trader,  had  been  port-reeve  of 
London.  Thomas  was  sent  to  school  at  Merton  priory, 
and  was  taken  away  from  the  school  there  while  still 
young  because  his  parents  suffered  serious  losses. 
Nevertheless  he  was  able  to  study  at  Paris,  and  after 
his  return  to  England  was  often  the  companion  of  a 
rich  noble  named  Richer  de  I'Aigle,  who  took  him  out 
hunting  and  hawking.  As  his  father  was  now  badly 
off,  he  became  clerk  to  a  merchant,  whose  name  in 
English  was  Eightpenny,  and  after  a  while  was  intro- 
duced to  the  archbishop,  entered  his  household,  and 
soon  became  his  most  trusted  adviser.  He  took  orders, 
and  received  many  rich  preferments.  As  chancellor, 
he  held  one  of  the  most  important  offices  ia  the  king- 
dom, and  his  duties  brought  him  into  constant  com- 
panionship with  the  king,  who  treated  him  as  an  in- 


Cleric  A  l  Pre  tensions.  i  i  3 

timate  friend.  He  was  diligent  in  his  secular  work  ; 
lie  loved  magnificence,  and  lived  with  grace  and  splen- 
dour. Ko  chancellor  had  been  so  great  a  man  before. 
He  probably  had  a  large  share  in  the  reorganization 
of  the  administrative  machinery.  One  change  was 
certainly  due  to  him — the  commutation  of  military 
service  for  a  money  payment.  A  step  in  this  direc- 
tion was  made  in  1 1 5  6,  when  Henry  laid  a 

Taxation  of  ni  r\y  iitiit 

ecclesiastical     tax  Called   scutage   on    Church   lands   held 

kuights'  fues.      -,       ^      •    -,     ,  •  miiTTi- 

by  knights  service,  iheobald  objected  to 
this  imposition,  but  his  objections  were  fruitless.  Three 
years  later,  when  the  king  was  undertaking  a  war  in 
Toulouse,  the  chancellor  advised  him  to  take  money 
from  all  who  owed  him  military  service,  instead  of  call- 
ing upon  them  to  go  to  the  war.  The  general  import- 
ance of  this  measure  does  not  belong  to  our  subject; 
the  scutage  of  Toulouse  concerns  us  here  simpl}^  because 
it  was  levied  on  church-lands.  It  excited  far  more 
indignation  among  the  clergy  than  the  earlier  tax, 
because  they  saw  that  it  was  the  beginning  of  a 
system,  not  an  isolated  expedient.  The  chancellor  was 
held  to  have  done  the  Church  a  grievous  injury,  and 
even  his  friends  traced  his  later  troubles  to  his  sin 
against  her. 

"When,  in  1162,  Henry  bade  his  chancellor  accept 
the  primacy,  he  hoped  to  find  him  a  powerful  ally  in 
Thomas,  arcb-  Carrying  out  the  reforms  he  contemplated, 
canunbury,  Thouias  assentcd  unwillingly,  for  he  was 
1162-1170.  resolved,  if  he  took  the  office,  to  maintain 
the  claims  of  the  Church  to  the  utmost,  and  he  knew 
that  this  would  bring  him  into  collision  with  the  king. 
Although  his  life  hud  been  pure,  it  had  not  been 
C.  H.  H 


114    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

clerical,  and  lie  had  not  even  taken  priest's  orders 
wlien  he  was  elected  archbishop.  He  now  entered 
on  a  new  life.  Everything  that  was  then  held  be- 
coming in  a  churchman  and  an  archbishop  he  prac- 
tised to  the  utmost.  With  the  whole-heartedness 
with  which  he  had  thrown  himself  into  his  work  as 
chancellor,  he  now,  in  a  post  that  must  have  been 
less  congenial  to  his  nature,  set  himself  to  live  up  to 
the  highest  ideal  then  current  of  what  an  archbishop 
ought  to  be  as  regards  both  life  and  policy.  He  had 
enemies,  for  some  were  jealous  of  him,  and  some  were 
honestly  scandalized  at  his  appointment.  Ever  re- 
gardless of  the  fear  or  favour  of  men,  he  added  to 
their  number  by  prosecuting  the  rights  of  his  see  to 
lands  that  had  been  alienated  from  it.  In  acting  thus, 
his  conduct,  though  perhaps  injudicious,  certainly  be- 
came his  office.  His  position  as  the  head  of  the 
nation  first  brouglit  him  into  opposition  to  the  Crown. 
Henry  wished  that  a  certain  tax,  probably  a  survival  of 
the  Dauegeld,  which  was  paid  to  the  sheriffs,  should 
be  brought  into  the  royal  revenue.  The  archbishop 
objected,  no  doubt  because  he  thought  that  this  would 
revive  the  old  tax.  "  Saving  your  pleasure,  lord  king, 
we  will  not  give  it  as  revenue  ;  but  if  the  sheriffs  and 
officers  of  the  counties  do  their  duty  by  us,  we  will 
never  refuse  it  them  by  way  of  aid."  The  king  was 
wroth.  "  By  the  eyes  of  God  !  "  he  cried,  "  it  shall  be 
given  as  revenue,  and  entered  in  the  king's  books  ;  and 
you  ought  not  to  oppose  me,  for  I  am  not  oppressing 
any  man  of  yours  against  your  will."  The  archbishop 
answered,  "  By  the  eyes  you  have  sworn  by,  my  lord 
king,  it  shall  not  be  levied  from  any  of  my  lands,  and 


Clerical  Pre  tensioxs.  i  i  5 

from  the  lands  of  the  Clinrcli  not  a  penny !  "  He 
seems  to  have  carried  his  point,  and  thus  the  first 
successful  opposition  to  the  will  of  the  Crown  in  a 
financial  matter  proceeded  from  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. Nor  was  the  archbishop  slack  in  asserting  the 
spiritual  rights  of  his  office ;  for  he  excommunicated 
one  of  the  king's  tenants-in-chief,  and  when  Henry 
bade  him  absolve  him,  answered  that  it  was  not  the 
kincy's  business  to  sav  who  should  be  bound  and  who 
unbound.  In  this  matter  the  king  demanded  no  more 
than  the  observance  of  one  of  the  Conqueror's  rules ; 
the  archbishop  asserted  no  more  than  one  of  the  eternal 
rights  of  the  Church,  which  she  had  now  become  strong 
enough  to  claim. 

A  erreater  conflict  between  the  claims,  of  the  Crown 
and  of  the  Church  was  at  hand.  The  Conqueror  had 
Eccie'^iasticai  strengthened  himself  by  increasing  the  power 
discipline.  ^i^  ^^  clergy ;  Henry  could  only  establish 
the  strong  and  orderly  government  he  aimed  at  by 
lessening  it.  We  have  seen  how  rapidly  clerical  influ- 
ence had  grown  during  the  anarchy  owing  to  the  sus- 
pension of  the  royal  authority,  the  multiplication  of 
appeals,  the  attention  paid  by  Theobald  to  ecclesiastical 
law,  and  other  causes.  Clergy  guilty  of  secular  offences 
were  tried  solely  by  ecclesiastical  courts ;  and  as  the 
spiritual  judges,  after  inflicting  an  ecclesiastical  penalty, 
refused  to  give  up  the  clerical  offender  to  a  secular 
court,  many  gross  crimes  met  with  wholly  inadequate 
punishments.  For  the  number  of  persons  in  orders  of 
different  degrees  was  very  large,  and  all  alike  claimed 
immunity  from  civil  jurisdiction ;  and  it  is  evident, 
thouQ'h   this  was    a   matter  of  less  consequence,  that 


1 1 6    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

all  offences  against   tlie   clergy  were   also   claimed  as 
belonging  to  the  province  of  the  ecclesiastical  courts. 

At  a  great  council,  held  at  Westminster  in  1163, 
Henry  asked  if  the  bishops  would  obey  the  "  customs 
of  his  grandfather,"  if  they  would  agree  that  clerks 
convicted  of  secular  crimes  should,  after  degradation, 
be  punished  as  laymen.  The  primate  declared  that 
clerks  were  not  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  an  earthly 
king^    and  would  only  asfree   that  a  clerk 

Constitutions         ,  ,  t  i     t         i         i  i      f 

of  Clarendon,  already  degraded  should  for  another  of- 
fence be  punished  by  a  lay  judge.  Henry 
asked  the  bishops  if  they  would  obey  the  "  cus- 
toms," and  their  reply,  "  Saving  our  order,"  was  vir- 
tually a  refusal.  At  a  later  interview  he  persuaded 
Archbishop  Thomas  to  promise  obedience  to  the  cus- 
toms unreservedly.  He  then  summoned  a  council  at 
Clarendon,  and  there,  under  strong  pressure,  the  pri- 
mate and  his  suffragans  took  the  required  pledge.  The 
council  then  proceeded  to  inquire  what  the  customs 
were,  and  a  body  of  rules  was  drawn  up  called  the 
"  Constitutions  of  Clarendon."  By  these  Constitutions 
all  cases  touching  advowsons  and  presentations  were 
to  be  tried  in  the  king's  court.  The  convicted  clerk 
was  no  longer  to  be  protected  by  the  Church.  Ap- 
peals from  the  archbishop  were  to  be  heard  by  the 
king,  and  were  not  to  be  carried  further  without  his 
leave.  Bishops  and  all  who  held  of  the  Crown  as 
by  barony  were  to  take  part  in  the  proceedings  of 
the  king's  court  until  it  came  to  sentence  touching 
life  or  limb.  Elections  to  bishoprics  and  royal 
abbeys  were  to  be  made  by  the  higher  clergy  of  the 
church   in  the  king's  chapel  and  with  his  assent,  and 


Cleric  A  l  Pre  te.vs/oxs.  i  i  7 

tlio  elect  was  to  do  homage  and  fealty  to  the  king 
as  his  lieere  lord  before  he  was  conseci'ated.  And 
the  son  of  a  villein  was  not  to  be  ordained  without 
his  lord's  leave.  When  the  primate  heard  the  Con- 
stitutions he  refused  to  set  his  seal  to  them,  de- 
clared he  would  not  assent  to  them  as  long  as  he 
had  breath  in  his  body,  and  suspended  himself  from 
his  sacred  oflSce  until  he  had  received  the  Pope's  abso- 
lution from  his  hasty  promise.  The  Constitutions, 
which  were  founded  on  the  relations  existing  be- 
tween the  Church  and  the  State  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  I.,  were  an  attempt  to  bring  matters  back  to 
a  stage  which  had  now  been  passed,  to  define  re- 
lations that  had  hitherto  been  continually  changing, 
and  to  establish  a  system  which,  however  generally 
excellent,  was  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  age. 

Archbishop  Thomas  twice  tried  to  flee  to  the  Pope, 
and  failed  through  stress  of  weather  or  because  the 
Council  of  sailors  were  afraid  of  the  king's  anger.  In 
Northampton.  Qctobcr  he  was  summoncd  to  appear  before 
the  king's  council  at  Northampton,  and  there  an  effort 
was  made  to  crush  him  by  multiplied  suits.  At  last 
tlie  king  demanded  an  account  of  all  the  sums  that 
had  passed  through  his  hands  during  his  chancellor- 
ship, though  he  had  already  received  a  quittance. 
At  Westminster  and  at  Clarendon  the  bishops  had 
sided,  though  timidly,  with  their  primate,  for  the 
nature  of  the  dispute  forced  them  to  do  so.  Now, 
when  tlio  whole  business  was  reduced  to  a  personal 
attack  upon  him,  they  sided  with  the  king,  just  as 
their  predecessors  had  done  wlien  Pufiis  attacked 
Auselm  and  Henry  disputed  witli   him.      For   though 


1 1 8    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  A  ges. 

tlie  pretensions  of  the  Church  limited  the  power 
of  the  Crown,  and  though  Anselm  and  Becket 
each  in  his  own  day  struggled  for  those  preten- 
sions, the  bishops  as  a  body  were  always  on  the 
king's  side,  for  he  had  given  them  their  office  either 
because  they  had  served  him  Avell,  or  because  he 
expected  them  to  be  useful  to  himself.  Accordingly 
Gilbert  Foliot,  bishop  of  London,  a  churchman  of 
considerable  worldly  wisdom,  who  held  that  a  quarrel 
with  the  king  would  injure  the  interests  of  the 
Church,  advised  the  archbishop  to  submit  to  Henry, 
and  other  bishops  said  much  the  same.  Thomas  for- 
bade them  to  sit  in  judgment  on  him,  and  appealed 
from  his  lay  judges  to  the  Pope.  Before  long  he 
escaped  from  England,  sorely  against  the  king's  will, 
and  went  to  Pope  Alexander  III.  at  Sens,  who  at 
once  condemned  the  Constitutions. 

Alexander  III.  was  in  exile  in  France,  for  his  rival, 
Victor,  who  was  upheld  by  the  Emperor  Frederic  I., 
The  arciibishop  ^^^  powcrful  in  Italy,  and  he  naturally 
lu  exile.  held    that    it    was    more    important    to 

secure  his  own  position  than  to  uphold  the  English 
primate.  He  could  not  afford  to  offend  Henry,  lest  he 
should  take  the  side  of  the  Emperor  and  his  schis- 
matical  Pope.  Accordingly  he  bade  the  archbishop 
keep  silence  for  a  while ;  and  as  Thomas  did  not  think 
it  seemly  to  stay  in  the  dominions  of  Lewis  of  France, 
who  was  at  enmity  with  Henry,  he  took  up  his  abode 
in  the  Cistercian  abbey  of  Pontigny,  in  Burgundy. 
When  Victor  died,  in  1165,  the  Emperor  set  up  an- 
other Pope,  and  made  alliance  with  Henry,  who  was, 
perhaps,  only  saved  from  actively  espousing  the  cause 


Clerical  Pre  texsioxs.  i  i  9 

of  the  imperialist  antipope  Ly  the  wisdom  of  his  justi- 
ciar, the  earl  of  Leicester.  Indeed,  the  ambassador  he 
sent  to  the  Emperor's  council  at  Wiirzburg  renounced 
the  Pope  in  his  master's  name  and  promised  that 
Henry  would  help  Frederic's  antipope.  That  year, 
however,  Alexander  returned  to  Rome,  and  felt  himself 
strong  enough  to  send  the  exiled  primate  a  legatine 
commission.  In  virtue  of  this  commission,  Thomas 
in  1 166  went  to  Vezelay,  and  there,  in  the  abbey 
church,  in  the  jDresence  of  a  largo  congregation,  excom- 
municated all  the  king's  party,  both  clergy  and  laymen. 
He  had  heard  that  Henry  was  ill,  and  therefore  did 
not  excommunicate  him.  Nevertheless,  with  a  voice 
choked  with  tears,  he  threatened  him  by  name  with  a 
like  sentence.  In  return,  Henry  so  frightened  the 
Cistercians  that  Thomas  was  virtually  forced  to  leave 
Pontigny.  This  retaliation  was  as  foolish  as  it  was 
tyrannical ;  for  the  archbishop  took  shelter  in  France, 
and  so  o^ave  Lewis  a  fi'esh  means  of  annoving^  the 
English  king.  The  details  of  the  quarrel  are  intricate 
and  somewhat  wearisome.  None  of  those  concerned 
acted  with  dignity.  Heniy  weakened  his  own  position 
by  appealing  to  the  Pope  to  judge  between  him  and 
one  of  his  own  subjects;  he  assented  to  the. Pope's 
decrees  when  they  were  in  his  own  favour,  and  resisted 
them  when  they  were  against  him.  Thomas  was  violent, 
and  multiplied  excommunications.  Several  eflbrts  were 
made  to  bring  about  a  reconciliation  between  him  and 
Henry,  and  a  meeting  took  place  between  them  at 
Montmirail  in  1169.  The  archbishop,  however,  would 
not  be  content  with  anything  less  than  a  complete 
surrender  on  the  king's  part,  and  the  conference  ended 


120    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

fruitlessly.  Alexander  sometimes  uplielcl,  and  some- 
times thwarted  Thomas,  just  as  his  own  interests  dic- 
tated, and  pursued  a  course  that  seemed  to  the  stout- 
hearted archbishop  mean  and  pusillanimous.  "  In  the 
Eoman  court,"  he  indignantly  wrote,  "  Barabbas  escapes 
and  Christ  is  put  to  death."  Lewis  simply  used  the 
quarrel  to  his  own  advantage,  and  supported  the  arch- 
bishop just  as  he  supported  the  lords  of  Henry's  vassal 
states  against  him. 

A  new  phase  of  the  dispute  arose  from  Henry's 
wish  to  have  his  eldest  son  crowned.  The  archbishop 
The  arch-  o^  Canterbury  alone  had  the  right  to  per- 
martyrdom,  form  the  ccremouy ;  and  when  Thomas  in- 
^^^°*  sisted  on  this  right  he  was  not  contending 

for  an  empty  honour ;  for  coronation  was  held  to  be 
necessary  to  kingship,  and  it  was  the  archbishop's 
duty  to  receive  a  pledge  of  good  government  from 
the  king  he  crowned.  Alexander  first  agreed  to  allow 
Eoger  of  York  to  crown  the  young  king,  and,  later, 
sent  to  prohibit  him  from  doing  so.  Henry  prevented 
the  prohibition  from  being  brought  into  England,  and 
Roger  performed  the  ceremony.  Lewis  now  threat- 
ened war,  and  the  Pope's  advisers  urged  him  to  vindi- 
cate the  rights  of  Canterbury.  Henry  was  thus  driven 
to  a  reconciliation,  and  Thomas  returned  to  his  see. 
He  at  once  suspended  the  bishops  who  had  taken  part 
in  the  coronation,  renewed  the  excommunications  he 
had  already  pronounced  against  some  of  them,  and 
excommunicated  some  of  his  personal  enemies  who 
had  annoyed  him  by  violent  and  brutal  acts.  The 
consciousness  that  he  was  endansfering'  his  own  life 
had   no   weight   with    him,   for    he  constantly   antici- 


Clerical  Pretensions.  121 

pated  and  even  aspired  to  martyrdom,  Wlien  the 
king,  who  was  still  in  Normandy,  heard  of  his  pro- 
ceedings he  was  furiously  angry,  and  thoughtlessly 
exclaimed  to  his  courtiers,  "  Of  the  cowards  who  eat 
my  bread,  is  there  none  that  will  rid  me  of  this 
troublesome  priest  ?  "  Moved  by  these  hasty  words, 
four  knights  crossed  the  Channel,  proceeded  to  Can- 
terbury, and  after  insulting  the  archbishop  in  his 
palace,  broke  into  the  church  where  the  monks  had 
compelled  him  to  take  shelter.  One  bade  him  flee, 
for  else  he  was  a  dead  man.  "  I  welcome  death,"  he 
said,  "  for  God  and  for  the  liberty  of  the  Church." 
They  tried  to  lay  hands  on  him,  and  then  the  feel- 
ings of  his  younger  days,  long  kept  down  by  self- 
mortification,  asserted  themselves.  He  struofffled  with 
the  armed  men,  and  threw  one  to  the  ground.  He 
cried  to  another  not  to  dare  to  touch  him,  and  called 
him  by  a  foul  name.  The  knights  shouted,  "  Strike  ! 
strike  !  "  Then  he  commended  his  "  soul  and  the 
Church's  cause  to  God,  to  St.  Denys  of  France,  to 
St.  Elphege  and  all  the  Saints."  His  murderers  at- 
tacked him  with  their  swords,  and  he  died  with  holy 
words  upon  his  lips.  He  fell  a  martyr  to  the  privi- 
leges or  "  liberty  "  of  the  Church.  That  these  privi- 
leges were  not  really  beneficial  to  her  is  not  to  the 
purpose.  Men  and  causes  are  to  be  judged  by  the 
standard  of  their  own  age,  and  neither  then  nor  for 
centuries  later  did  any  doubt  that  he  laid  down  his 
life  for  the  cause  of  God  and  His  Church. 

The  murder  of  the  archbishop  seemed  likely  to 
ruin  the  king.  Miracles  were  worked  at  the  tomb  of 
the  martyr,  and  he  was  at  once  accepted  as  a  saint. 


122    The  English  Church  jn  the  Middle  Ages. 

Altliougli  liis  murder  did  not  cause  tlie  revolt  tliat  fol- 
lowed it,  the  disorganization  it  produced  made  revolt 
Henr  's  Opportune.      Tlie  only  bishop  concerned  in 

bishops.  ^^g  movement  was  Hugh  Puiset  of  Durham, 

a  crafty  and  powerful  prelate,  who  had  some  under- 
hand dealings  with  the  Scots,  and  whose  castles  were 
in  consequence  seized  by  the  king.  Henry  renounced 
the  Constitutions,  promised  not  to  hinder  appeals,  and 
submitted  to  a  scourging  from  the  monks  of  Christ 
Church.  Yet  the  Church  lost  much  ;  for  the  quarrel  put 
an  end  to  the  effort  to  attain  to  a  higher  ecclesiastical 
standard  that  had  been  made  by  Theobald  and  the 
clerks  of  his  household,  and  a  fresh  wave  of  secularity 
swept  over  the  Church.  This  was  largely  due  to  Henry's 
policy.  He  kept  sees  vacant  and  took  their  revenues. 
"  Is  it  not  better,"  he  would  say,  "  that  the  money 
should  be  spent  on  the  necessary  affairs  of  the  king- 
dom than  on  the  luxuries  of  bishops  ?  For  the  bishops 
of  our  time  are  not  like  what  bishops  used  to  be  ; 
they  are  careless  and  slothful  about  their  office,  and 
embrace  the  world  with  all  their  arms."  He  might 
have  made  bishops  of  another  stamp,  but  when,  after 
his  absolution,  six  vacant  sees  were  filled  up,  he  took 
care  that  they  should  go  to  men  who  belonged  to 
his  own  party.  Lincoln  he  gave  to  his  natural  son, 
Geoffrey,  who  was  then  a  mere  lad.  The  Pope  ordered 
that  his  consecration  should  be  deferred ;  yet  he  held 
the  see,  though  he  was  not  even  a  priest,  for  eight 
years,  until  Alexander  III.  commanded  him  either  to 
take  episcopal  orders  or  to  give  it  up.  Then  he  gave 
it  up,  became  chancellor,  and  on  his  father's  death  was 
elected  to  York.      Towards  the  end  of  his  reign  Henry 


Clerical  Pretensions.  123 

insisted  on  the  election  of  a  Lisliop  of  nobler  character 
to  the  see  of  Lincoln.  This  was  Hugh  of  Avalon,  the 
bravest  and  noblest  churchman  of  his  day,  whom  the 
king  had  brought  over  from  Burgundy  to  govern  the 
little  monastery  he  had  founded  at  Witham,  and  whom, 
to  his  honour,  he  liked  and  reverenced.  The  Lincoln 
chapter  would  have  preferred  a  more  worldly  bishop, 
and  elected  several  ministers  of  state  and  courtiers,  one 
after  another.  Henry  would  have  none  of  them ;  he 
would  not,  he  said,  "  for  the  future,  give  a  bishopric  to 
any  one  for  favour,  or  relationship,  or  counsel,  or  beg- 
ging, or  buying,  but  only  to  those  whom  the  Lord 
should  choose  for  Himself."  Canterbury  remained 
vacant  for  five  years  after  the  death  of  Archbishop 
Thomas,  for  some  difficulties  arose  about  the  election. 
At  last  Richard,  prior  of  Dover,  was  elected.  The 
young  King  Henry,  a  worthless  man  and  a  rebellious 
son,  affected  to  be  scandalized  at  his  father's  interference 
in  episcopal  elections,  and  declared  that  he  managed 
matters  by  saying,  "  I  charge  you  to  hold  a  free  elec- 
tion, yet  I  forbid  you  to  elect  any  one  but  my  clerk 
Richard."  The  archbishop  was  an  easy-going  man, 
and  did  not  please  Becket's  party.  Neither  he  nor 
the  bishops  caused  the  king  any  trouble  during  the 
remainder  of  his  reign. 

Although  the  Constitutions  of  Clarendon  were  no- 
minally abandoned,  they  had  considerable  effect  on 
the  future  relations  between  Church  and 
reiati.nis  to  State,  and  indeed  determined  their  develop- 
ment. Even  in  Henry's  reign  the  privileges 
which  Archbishop  Thomas  had  claimed  for  the  Church 
were    slightly    curtailed.      "With    the   papal    sanction, 


124    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

clerks  were  made  amenable  to  the  forest  laws ;  for 
what  business  had  they  to  hunt  ?  And  the  murderers 
of  clerks  were  given  up  to  the  civil  courts ;  for  the 
claim  of  the  Church  to  punish  them  was  reduced  to 
an  absurdity  when  it  sheltered  Becket's  murderers 
from  justice,  and  they  were  simply  punished  by  such 
penalties  as  the  Pope,  the  supreme  spiritual  judge, 
could  inflict.  As  Henry  caused  the  lands  of  the  Church, 
which  had  hitherto  escaped  taxation,  to  bear  their  share 
of  scutage,  so  when,  for  the  first  time,  he  introduced  a 
tax  on  movables  the  clergy  were  taxed  equally  with 
the  laity.  This  tax,  called  the  Saladine  tenth,  was 
granted  the  king  by  a  great  council,  and  the  pro- 
perty both  of  clerks  and   laymen   was   assessed  by  a 

After  Becket's  death  Henry  took  care  to  keep  on 
good  terms  with  Rome,  At  his  request  a  legate  named 
Hugh  visited  this  country,  partly,  at  least,  to 
settle  a  new  dispute  between  Canterbury  and 
York,  and  from  him  the  kiug  obtained  leave  to  bring 
the  clergy  under  the  forest  laws.  So  far  had  the  mar- 
tyrdom of  St.  Thomas  injured  the  independence  of 
the  kingdom  that  even  a  matter  of  domestic  law  was 
submitted  to  the  papal  judgment.  Hugh's  mission 
was  not  successful.  At  a  council  held  at  Westminster 
in  1 1 76,  Roger  of  York  tried  to  squeeze  himself  into 
a  more  honourable  seat  than  the  archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury. This  led  to  a  disturbance  in  which  sticks 
and  fists  were  freely  used.  Hugh  ran  about  the 
chapel  in  terror,  and  finding  '•  that  he  had  no  autho- 
rity in  England,"  soon  went  his  way.  A  few  months 
later  Henry  showed  that,  in  spite  of  his  late  humilia- 


Clerical  Pretensions.  125 

tion,  he  was  not  prepared  to  be  the  Pope's  humble 
servant ;  for  when  another  legate  landed  on  his  way 
to  Scotland,  he  sent  two  bishops,  who  asked  him  "by 
whose  authority  he  dared  to  enter  his  kingdom  with- 
out his  leave,"  and  exacted  a  promise  from  him  that 
he  would  do  nothing  here  without  his  will. 

Early  in  the  rcigu  we  find  the  spiritual  and  the 
secular  power  acting  together  in  a  case  that  was  wholly 
new  to  Englishmen.  Some  thirty  German- 
speaking  heretics,  probably  natives  of  Flan- 
ders, landed  here,  and  made  one  disciple — a  woman. 
No  Christian  heretics  had  ever  appeared  in  England 
before.  Henry  summoned  a  council  of  bishops  to  meet 
at  Oxford  in  1 1 66  ;  the  heretics  were  found  guilty, 
and  were  handed  over  to  the  "  Catholic  king."  They 
were  condemned  to  be  branded,  flogged  out  of  the  city, 
and  then  to  be  shunned  by  all  men.  Left  without 
food  or  shelter  in  the  midst  of  winter,  they  soon 
perished.  The  special  action  taken  with  regard  to 
these  heretics  illustrates  the  uncertainty  of  the  law  as 
to  the  punishment  of  heresy.  Here  as  elsewhere  the 
Church  kept  itself  free  from  the  pollution  of  blood, 
and  handed  the  heretic  over  to  the  secular  power. 
Although  in  the  reign  of  John  a  clerk  who  apostatized 
to  Judaism  was  burnt  at  Oxford,  burning  for  heresy 
had  no  place  in  the  common  law  of  England,  except 
such  as  was  given  it  by  writers  of  law-books,  who 
were  under  the  influence  of  the  Roman  jurisprudence. 
England  was  generally  free  from  heresy  until  the  time 
of  Wyclif ;  the  papal  Inquisition,  though  used  to  some 
extent  for  the  suppression  of  the  Templars,  was  not 
introduced  iuto  the  kingdom,  and  the  subject  of  heresy 


126    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

and  its  punisliment  is  of  no  practical  importance  until 
the  appearance  of  tlie  Lollards. 

While  the  Scottish  bishops  were,  as  we  have  seen, 
released  by  the  Pope  from  dependence  on  the  see  of 
Conquest  of  Yorlv,  the  influence  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
ireiaiid.  \^rA   was    extended    both    in    Ireland    and 

Wales.  The  Church  in  Ireland  seems  to  have  done 
little  to  civilize  the  people :  it  had  lost  the  early- 
glories  of  its  missionary  days,  while  it  retained  its 
lack  of  order  and  its  inability  to  rule  itself  or  others. 
Almost  to  the  eve  of  the  Conquest  it  had%no  arch- 
bishops, and  had  a  crowd  of  bishops  without  a  regular 
diocesan  system.  These  and  other  irregularities  caused 
some  of  the  bishops  of  the  Ostmen's  towns  to  seek 
consecration  from  Lanfrauc  and  Anselm.  St.  Bernard 
and  Eugenius  III.  tried  hard  to  introduce  some  order 
into  the  Church,  and  their  efforts  were  seconded  by 
the  Irish  bishop,  Malachi.  Four  sees  were  raised  to 
metropolitan  rank,  and  some  steps  were  taken  towards 
establishing  an  orderly  system.  Still,  much  remained  to 
be  done,  and  Hadrian  IV.  (Nicolas  Brakespear),  the 
only  English  Pope,  willingly  sanctioned  Henry's  pro- 
posal to  invade  Ireland,  and  in  1 1 5  5  sent  him  the 
bull  "  LaudabiHter,"  bidding  him  conquer  the  land  for 
the  increase  of  the  Church,  together  with  a  ring  con- 
veying investiture  of  the  country.  He  did  this  m 
virtue  of  the  forged  donation  of  Constantine,  which 
purported  to  put  all  islands  under  the  lordship  of  the 
Pope.  Hadrian's  answer  to  Henry's  request  was, 
therefore,  a  repetition  of  the  answer  that  Alexander  II. 
made  to  the  request  of  William.  Both  Popes  alike 
sanctioned   the    invasion    of   a   Christian    land    by   a 


Clerical  Pretensioxs.  127 

foreign  enemy  in  order  to  spread  the  power  of  the 
Iloraan  Church.  Henry  dicl  not  take  advantage  of 
Hadrian's  bull  until  after  the  death  of  Beckct.  Ireland 
was  conquered  by  private  adventurers,  and  it  only  re- 
mained for  him  to  receive  its  submission.  He  held 
the  land  by  the  Pope's  gift,  and  he  was  not  unmindful 
of  the  benefit  he  had  received,  for  he  called  together 
a  synod  at  Cashel,  which  passed  decrees  bringing  the 
Church  of  Ireland  into  conformity  with  the  Roman 
order.  By  far  the  larger  part  of  the  country,  how- 
ever, was  virtually  unaffected  by  the  Conquest,  and 
equally  unaffected  by  the  Council  of  Cashel.  Nor  did 
it  become  thoroughly  papal  until  Henry  VIII.  quar- 
relled with  the  papacy.  Then  he  disowned  the  Roman 
suzerainty  by  causing  himself  to  be  proclaimed  king 
of  Ireland,  and  the  papacy  appeared  as  the  champion 
of  a  country  which  it  had  given  over  to  foreign 
invasion.  Unfortunately  the  bishops  that  Irelaud 
received  from  the  English  kings  were  often  mere 
ministerial  officials,  and  sometimes  little  better  than 
the  fierce  lords  of  the  English  Palo. 

In  Wales,  Henry  used  the  Church  for  political  ends, 
and  ruled  the  country  by  means  of  its  Norman  bishops. 
^,    ^    ,.  ^      The  consequence  of  this   policy  was,  that 

Tlic  Entr'ish  ,        ,  .  1  ./  3 

\vaic3'' '"  bishops  were  worldly  and  greedy  men, 

and  were  hated  by  the  natives,  the  clergy 
were  ignorant  and  debased,  and  the  people  resisted 
the  claims  of  the  Church.  Gerald  de  Barri,  arch- 
deacon of  Brecknock,  a  young  man  of  a  noble  Nor- 
man house,  though  on  his  mother's  side  of  the  blood- 
royal  of  Wales,  was  appointed  by  Archbishop  Richard 
as    his    commissioner   to    reform   the    abuses    of   the 


128    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

Cliurch.  He  was  brave  and  energetic,  very  learned 
and  very  witty,  and  most  of  liis  books,  and  espe- 
cially bis  "  Topograpby  of  Ireland  "  and  bis  "  Eccle- 
siastical Jewel,"  are  deligbtful  reading.  Wbile  effecting 
many  reforms  in  tbe  Welsb  Oburcb,  be  seems  to  bave 
excited  tbe  clergy  to  attempt  to  gain  metropolitan 
rank  for  tbe  see  of  St.  David's.  Tbis  would  bave 
been  wbolly  contrary  to  Henry's  policy,  for  it  would 
bave  given  tbe  Welsb  a  national  leader,  and  be  refused 
tbeir  request.  Gerald  spent  many  years  of  bis  life, 
partly  in  tbe  pursuit  of  tbis  object,  and  partly  in 
trying  to  procure  bis  confirmation  as  bisbop  of  St. 
David's.  He  was  twice  elected  to  tbe  bisbopric,  once 
in  tbe  reign  of  Henry,  and  again  at  tbe  accession  of 
Jobn ;  be  laid  bis  case  before  Innocent  IIL,  and 
engaged  in  a  long  suit  at  tbe  papal  court.  St, 
David's,  bowever,  never  became  a  metropolitan  see, 
and  be  never  became  its  bisbop. 

Among  tbe  causes  tbat  magnified  tbe  papal  power 
bere  and  elsewbere  must  be  reckoned  tbe  crusades. 
Richard's  1'^®  Pope  alone  could  release  from  tbeir 
crusade.  ^^^  tboso   wbo    bad  taken   tbe  cross ;    be 

became,  in  a  certain  sense,  tbe  director  of  tbe  military 
force  of  Cbristendom,  and  be  gained  a  new  claim  to 
interfere  in  tbe  mutual  relations  of  states.  England 
took  little  part  in  tbe  first  two  crusades,  tbougb  in 
Stepben's  time  our  seaport  towns  joined  in  a  naval 
crusade  of  burgbers  and  seamen,  wbo  took  Lisbon 
from  tbe  Moors.  In  1 1 8  5  tbe  patriarcb  of  Jerusalem 
urged  Henry  to  come  to  tbe  belp  of  tbe  Holy  city. 
Two  or  tbree  barons  went  to  tbe  war,  and  tbe  king 
tbougbt  of  going  in  person,  for  be  was  tbe  bead  of 


Clerical  Pretexsioxs.  129 

tlio  Angevin  lionsc,  to  wliicli  tlie  kings  of  Jerusalem 
belonged.  He  did  not  do  so,  for  the  same  reason 
which,  it  is  alleged,  kept  the  Confessor  from  making 
his  proposed  pilgrimage.  A  great  council,  evidently 
mainly  ecclesiastical  in  character,  reminded  him  of  his 
coronation  oath,  and  told  him  that  it  was  his  duty  to 
stay  and  look  after  the  interests  of  his  own  kingdom. 
Two  years  later  Christendom  was  startled  by  the  news 
of  the  fall  of  Jerusalem.  Henry,  his  son  Richard,  and 
many  nobles  took  the  cross,  and  Archbishop  Baldwin, 
accompanied  by  Gerald  de  Barri,  preached  the  crusade 
in  Wales,  and  gained  a  vast  number  of  recruits. 
Henry  died  before  he  could  perform  his  vow,  and 
Itichard  immediately  began  to  prepare  for  his  ex- 
pedition. It  was  important  alike  for  the  good  of  the 
kinsrdom  and  for  his  own  success  that  he  should 
decide  who  should  go  with  him,  and  accordingly  he 
obtained  leave  from  Clement  III.  to  dispense  with 
crusading  vows  for  money.  Before  he  sailed  he  sold  all 
the  lands,  jurisdictions,  and  offices  he  could  find  pur- 
chasers for. 

Eichard  left  the  administration  in  the  hands  of 
churchmen,  and  all  through  his  reign  the  affiiirs  of 
William  Long,  the  kingdom  were  managed  by  bishops. 
of'S'/.'^lJ-"^  William  Longchamp,  bishop  of  Ely,  bought 
"97-  the    chancellorship ;    Hugh   of   Puiset,   the 

justiciarship,  and  the  earldom  of  Northumberland  ;  and 
Richard,  bishop  of  London,  was  treasurer.  William 
Longchamp  was  a  man  of  low  birth,  lame  and  insig- 
nificant in  person,  haughty  in  manner,  of  overweening 
ambition,  and  careless  of  the  rights  of  others,  active, 
able,  and  faithful  to  his  master.  Hugh  of  Puiset,  who 
C.  H.  I 


130    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

came  of  a  Boble  house,  was  stately  and  gracious, 
wary,  and  full  of  secular  affairs — a  rich  and  powerful 
prince-bishop.  The  two  ministers  soon  quarrelled. 
Bishop  William  proved  the  stronger,  and  put  Hugh 
under  arrest.  "  By  the  life  of  my  lord,"  he  said, 
"  you  shall  not  go  hence  till  you  give  me  hostages  for 
the  surrender  of  your  castles ;  for  I  am  not  a  bishop 
arresting  a  bishop,  but  a  chancellor  arresting  his 
rival."  He  received  a  legatine  commission,  and  be- 
came sole  justiciar.  He  used  his  power  arrogantly, 
and  so  enabled  John,  the  king's  brother,  to  assume 
the  position  of  a  defender  of  the  rights  of  others. 
His  fall  was  brought  about  by  an  act  of  violence, 
GeojBfrey,  the  elect  of  York,  who  had  met  with  much 
opposition  from  his  chapter  and  from  the  bishop  of 
Durham,  had  at  last  been  consecrated  in  France  by 
the  Pope's  orders.  He  now  returned  to  England,  in 
spite,  it  is  said,  of  having  promised  the  king  that 
he  would  not  do  so.  An  attempt  was  made  to  arrest 
him  when  he  landed  at  Dover,  and  he  fled  to  the 
priory  church  for  refuge.  The  soldiers  of  the  con- 
stable of  the  castle,  the  chancellor's  brother-in-law, 
dragged  him  out  of  the  church  by  his  feet  and  arms, 
and  he  was  imprisoned  in  the  castle.  There  was 
great  indignation  at  this  act.  Hugh  of  Lincoln  at 
once  excommunicated  the  constable  and  all  who  had 
abetted  him.  Churchmen  spoke  of  Geoffrey  as  a 
second  St.  Thomas,  and  the  lay  barons  were  wroth 
at  the  insult  put  on  the  son  of  the  late  king.  All 
parties  united  against  the  chancellor ;  he  was  deposed 
from  his  office  and  compelled  to  leave  the  kingdom. 
Richard   was   made  prisoner   as  he  was  returning 


Clerical  Pre  tensions.  i  3 1 

from  the  crusade,  and  his  brother  John  raised  a 
revolt  against  him.  The  king  committed  his  interests 
to  Hubert  Walter,  bishop  of  Salisbury.  Hubert,  as 
dean  of  York,  had  been  one  of  Geoffrey's  enemies ; 
he  was  made  bishop  by  Eichard,  and  accompanied 
him  to  Acre,  where,  we  are  told,  he  was  equally  dis- 
tinguished as  a  warrior,  a  commander,  and  a  pastor. 
Archbishop  Baldwin  having  died  at  Acre  in  1190,  the 
suffragan  bishops  and  the  monks  of  Christ  Church,  in 
obedience  to  the  king's  will,  elected  Hubert 
Hubert,  1193-  to  the  archbishopric  in  1193,  and  shortly 
"°^'  afterwards  Richard  appointed  him  chief  jus- 

ticiar. A  relation  of  Ealf  Glanville,  the  famous  jus- 
ticiar of  Henry  II.,  Hubert  had  been  brought  up 
in  a  good  school  for  statesmanship,  and  he  did  credit 
to  his  training.  He  excommunicated  John,  took  his 
castles,  and  ensured  his  fall  by  raising  the  money  for 
the  kinof's  ransom.  On  Richard's  return  Hubert  placed 
the  crown  on  his  head  at  his  second  coronation  at  Win- 
chester, and  the  king  obtained  the  legatine  commis- 
sion for  him.  When  Richard  again  left  England, 
Hubert  virtually  became  viceroy  of  the  kingdom.  He 
triumphed  over  his  old  enemy,  Geoffrey,  sent  judges 
to  York  to  decide  the  dispute  between  him  and  his 
chapter,  allowed  them  to  seize  the  estates  of  the  see, 
and  upheld  the  cause  of  the  canons,  who  obtained  a 
papal  judgment  against  their  archbishop.  Geoffrey 
left  England,  and  remained  abroad  for  the  next  five 
years.  During  his  absence  Hubert  visited  York  both 
as  legate  and  as  justiciar. 

More  honourable  to  Hubert  than  this  almost  personal 
triumph  is  his  administrative  work.     Of  this  it  will 


132    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

be  sufficient  to  say  liere,  that  he  had  constantly  to  find 
large  sums  of  money  for  the  king ;  that  he  did  so  as 
far  as  possible  by  constitutional  methods ;  that  in  doing 
so  he  accustomed  the  people  to  make  elections  and 
act  by  representatives ;  and  that  he  preserved  internal 
order  and  developed  the  constructive  work  of  Henry  II, 
Richard's  demands  for  money  were  heavy,  and  though 
Becket  had  once  opposed  Henry  on  a  fiscal  question, 
no  constitutional  resistance  had  ever  yet  been  made 
to  a  tax  proposed  by  the  Crown.  Now,  however,  the 
nation  was  to  receive  from  the  Church  its  first  lesson 
in  the  principle  that  taxes  should  only  be  imposed 
with  the  consent  of  those  who  have  to  pay  them. 
At  an  assembly  held  at  Oxford  in  1198  the  arch- 
Bi-ho  Hurh  ^^^^°P'  °^  ^^  king's  behalf,  proposed  to 
of  Lincoln        the   barons   and  bishops   that  they    should 

opposes  an  iin-  .  .  . 

constitutional    maintain  three  hundred  knio-lits  for  a  year 

tax,  1198.  °  •' 

to  serve  across  the  sea.  Then  Hugh  of 
Lincoln  answered,  that  though  he  had  come  to  Eng- 
land as  a  stranger,  he  would  maintain  the  rights 
of  his  church,  and  that  though  it  was  bound  to 
do  military  service  within  the  kingdom,  the  king 
could  not  claim  such  service  beyond  the  sea,  and  that 
he  would  not  contribute  to  a  foreign  war.  Herbert 
of  Salisbury  also  spoke  to  the  same  effect.  Their 
answers  naturally  appealed  to  the  interests  of  the  lay 
barons,  and  the  demand  was  refused,  greatly  to  the 
king's  annoyance. 

Hubert's  position  was  not  altogether  pleasant.  The 
king  was  always  calling  on  him  to  find  fresh  supplies, 
and  he  was  harassed  by  a  suit  brought  against  him  at 
Rome  by  his  chapter  about  the  college  he  was  build- 


Clerical  Pretensions.  133 

ing  at  Lambetli,  a  subject  that  belongs  to  another 
volume  of  this  series.  A  serious  trouble  had  also 
arisen  in  1196.  The  taxes  pressed  heavily  on  the 
lower  classes,  and  a  revolt  was  raised  in  London, 
where  the  richer  citizens  were  accused  of  throwing 
the  burden  of  taxation  on  the  poor.  The  leader  of 
the  discontented  citizens  was  a  demagogue  named 
William  Fitz-Osbert,  or  William  Longbeard,  as  he 
was  commonly  called.  Hubert  tried  to  arrest  him, 
but  William  fled  for  refuge  to  the  church  of  St. 
Mary-le-Bow.  By  Hubert's  order  the  church  was  set 
on  fire,  and  William  was  smoked  out,  taken,  and 
hanged.  The  church  belonged  to  the  convent  of 
Christ  Church,  and  the  monks,  indignant  at  this 
breach  of  sanctuary,  complained  to  Pope  Innocent  III., 
who  in  1 198,  wrote  to  Eichard  urging  him  to  dismiss 
his  minister,  and  commanding  that  for  the  future 
bishops  and  priests  should  not  take  part  in  civil  admini- 
stration. Hubert  was  therefore  compelled  to  resign 
the  justiciarship. 

Much  was  lost  by  the  absorption  of  the  clergy  in 
secular  matters,  and  St.  Hugh  did  not  fail  to  urge 
the  archbishop  to  attend  less  to  the  affairs  of  the 
State  and  more  to  those  of  the  Church.  The  evils 
that  oppressed  the  Church,  the  debased  lives  of  the 
clergy,  who  generally  lived  in  concubinage,  the  greedi- 
ness of  the  archdeacons  and  other  officials,  the  world- 
liness  of  the  bishops,  and  the  venality  of  the  Roman 
court,  are  exposed  in  the  satires  which  bear  the  name 
of  "Bishop  Golias,"  and  are  attributed  to  Walter 
Map,  archdeacon  of  Oxford.  In  these  poems  scarcely 
a  sigu  appears  of  any  hope  of  a  higher  ecclesiastical 


134    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

life ;  worldliness  and  evil  are  represented  as  trium- 
pliant  in  Christendom.  Yet  there  were  some  church- 
men living  noble  lives,  and  the  power  which  St.  Hugh 
exercised  in  Church  and  State  shows  that  matters  were 
not  past  hope.  As  far  as  the  State  was  concerned, 
the  employment  of  the  clergy  in  secular  matters  was 
no  small  gain.  Besides  providing  the  country  with 
a  succession  of  highly  trained  officers,  the  Church 
forwarded  constitutional  development.  Just  as  at 
first  she  taught  the  State  how  to  attain  unity,  so 
now  she  afforded  it  an  example  of  organization  and 
progress. 


(     135    ) 


CHAPTER    VII. 

VASSALAGE. 

THE  ALLIANCE  BETWEEN  THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  CROWN — CORO- 
NATION OP  JOHN— QUARREL  BETWEEN  JOHN  AND  THE  POPE 
— THE  INTERDICT— VASSALAGE  OP  ENGLAND — THE  GREAT 
CHARTER— PAPAL  TUTELAGE  OF  HENRY  III. — TAXATION  OP 
SPIRITUALITIES — PAPAL  OPPRESSION — EDMUND  RICH,  ARCH- 
BISHOP— ROBERT  GROSSETESTE,  BISHOP  OF  LINCOLN — ALIENA- 
TION FROM  ROME — CIVIL  WAR — INCREASE  OF  CLERICAL  PRE- 
TENSIONS—  THE  CANON  LAW. 

For  nearly  a  century  and  a  half  after  the  Norman 
Conquest  the  Church  was  in  alliance  with  the  Crown. 
Alliance  be-  ^o^,  though  Anselm  and  Thomas  withstood 
aimch  nnd  the  royal  power  when  it  threatened  to  over- 
the  Crown.  throw  the  liberty  and  privileges  of  the 
Church,  and  Theobald,  Thomas,  and  Hugh  of  Lincoln 
each  opposed  demands  that  seemed  to  them  contrary 
to  right,  the  bishops  generally  were  staunch  supporters 
of  the  Crown,  and  their  alliance  helped  the  king  to 
triumph  over  the  baronage.  This  was  for  the  good 
of  the  nation  at  large ;  for  the  orderly  though  stern 
despotism  of  the  king  was  a  source  of  prosperity  to  the 
country,  while  feudal  anarchy  entailed  general  misery 
and  ruin.  The  strength  of  tlie  Crown,  and  its  general 
alliance  with  the  bishops,  enabled  it  to  preserve    an 


136    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

independent  attitude  towards  Rome,  and  tliis  secured 
the  Churcli  from  papal  oppression.  Indeed,  it  was  to 
Borne  that  churchmen  looked  for  help  when  the  law 
of  conscience  to  which  they  adhered  was  in  danger  of 
being  trodden  down  by  royal  power.  As  long  as  the 
king  and  the  Pope  had  separate  interests  the  Church 
was  tolerably  secure  from  wrong.  In  the  present 
chapter  we  shall  see  how  the  alliance  between  the 
Church  and  the  Crown  was  broken  by  the  tyranny 
of  John ;  how  the  Church,  though  she  gained  her 
rights,  was  not  content  with  a  selfish  victory,  and 
placed  herself  in  the  forefront  of  the  battle  for  national 
liberty ;  how  the  Crown  stooped  to  become  the  vassal 
of  Rome ;  and  how,  throughout  the  larger  part  of  the 
long  reign  of  Henry  III.,  the  alliance  thus  formed 
between  the  Pope  and  the  king  caused  the  Church  to 
be  ground  between  the  upper  and  nether  millstones  of 
royal  and  papal  oppression. 

While  the  accession  of  John  was  strictly  in  accord- 
ance with  constitutional  usage,  it  brought  the  elective 
Coronation  of  character  of  the  monarchy  into  special 
John,  H99.  prominence ;  and  Archbishop  Hubert,  at 
the  coronation,  while  declaring  him  qualified  for 
election,  asserted  the  freedom  of  the  people's  choice, 
and  made  a  special  appeal  to  John  to  observe  the 
oath  which  he  had  taken.  It  seems  as  though,  like 
Dunstan  when  he  ci'owned  -3ijthelred,  he  foresaw  the 
consequences  of  his  act,  and  strove,  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  English  Church  and  people,  to 
impress  on  the  new  king  the  duty  he  owed  to  both. 
Hubert  accepted  the  chancellorship,  which  was  held 
to  be  beneath  his  dignity  as  archbishop ;   he  used  his 


Vassalage.  137 

power  to  restrain  the  king  from  evil,  and  tlie  hatred 
that  John  bore  to  his  memory  proves  that  his  death, 
which  took  place  in  I  205,  was  a  national  calamity. 

Before  Hubert  was  buried  the  younger  monks  of 
Christ  Church  met  by  night,  and  without  waiting  for 
Quarrel  be-  the  king's  Icave,  elected  their  sub-prior, 
aiidTuuoielit  Reginald,  archbishop,  and  sent  him  to 
111.,  1205.  Home  for  confirmation,  bidding  him  tell 
no  one  of  his  new  honour.  Nevertheless,  as  soon  as 
he  landed  in  Flanders  he  gave  out  that  he  was  arch- 
bishop-elect. The  king  was  angry  with  the  convent, 
for  he  wished  to  nominate  John  de  Gray,  bishop  of 
Norwich,  one  of  his  ministers  ;  the  suffi-agan  bishops 
complained  that  they  had  been  allowed  no  share  in  the 
election,  and  the  elder  and  younger  monks  were  opposed 
to  each  other.  John  caused  the  convent  to  elect  the 
bishop  of  Norwich,  and  gave  him  the  temporalities,  and 
all  the  parties  appealed  to  Innocent  III.  After  con- 
siderable delay — for  delays  were  profitable  to  the  papal 
court — Innocent  declared  that  the  right  of  election 
belonged  solely  to  the  monks,  and  that  the  suffragan 
bishops  had  no  claim  to  share  in  it.  He  annulled  the 
election  of  Reginald  as  altogether  illegal,  and  that  of 
Bishop  John,  because  it  was  made  before  the  other  was 
declared  void ;  and  then,  on  the  ground  that  the  church 
of  Canterbury  should  no  longer  be  left  desolate,  com- 
manded the  monks,  whom  John  had  sent  over  to  up- 
liold  his  cause,  to  elect  Stephen  Langton,  an  English- 
man, and  a  cardinal  of  high  position  and  character. 
John  had  given  the  monks  full  powers,  for  he  thought 
that  he  could  trust  them,  and  after  a  little  pressure  they 
yielded  to  the  Pope's  command.     Innocent  wrote  to 


8    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 


John  bidding  liim  receive  Stephen.  The  king  answered 
angrily  that  he  would  not  do  so,  that  he  knew  nothing 
of  Stephen  save  that  he  had  lived  among  his  enemies, 
that  Rome  got  more  out  of  England  than  any  country  on 
this  side  the  Alps,  but  that  he  would  narrow  the  road 
thither,  and  that  he  had  plenty  of  learned  prelates  in 
his  dominions,  and  was  in  no  need  of  sending  to  a 
foreigner  for  judgments.  Innocent,  who  had  already 
shown  that  he  was  determined  to  maintain  his  autho- 
rity, as  the  Vicar  of  Christ,  to  judge  the  kings  of  the 
earth,  was  not  to  be  frightened,  and  consecrated  Stephen 
Langton.  The  king  turned  out  the  monks  of  Christ 
Church,  seized  the  property  of  the  house,  and  remained 
obstinate.  Meanwhile  he  quarrelled  with  the  Nor- 
thern metropolitan  also.  Many  heavy  taxes  had 
been  laid  upon  the  country,  and  his  brother.  Arch- 
bishop Geoffrey,  refused  to  allow  a  new  subsidy,  de- 
manded from  clergy  and  laity  alike,  to  be  levied  in 
his  province,  and  excommunicated  the  collectors  ;  he 
appealed  to  Innocent,  but  was  forced  to  leave  the 
kingdom,  and  died  abroad. 

When  every  attempt  to  persuade  John  to  receive  the 
archbishop  had  failed,  the  Pope  bade  the  bishops  of 
Interdict  Loudou,  Ely,  and  Worcester  lay  the  king- 
1208-1213.  jJqj^  under  an  interdict.  No  church  bells 
might  be  rung,  no  service  sung  save  in  low  tones, 
no  sacraments  administered  save  confession  and  the 
sacrament  for  the  dying,  and  the  dead  were  buried 
in  unconsecrated  ground  like  dogs,  without  prayer  or 
priest.  In  answer,  John  confiscated  all  the  goods  of 
the  clergy  and  sealed  up  their  barns ;  the  women 
who   lived  with   them  as  their  wives  {focarice)  were 


Vassalage.  139 

seized,  and  tliey  i^ere  forced  to  ransom  tLem,  and 
were  ill-used  and  robbed  of  their  horses  as  they  rode 
on  the  highways  by  the  king's  men.  Several  bishops 
fled  the  kingdom.  This  state  of  things  went  on  for 
about  four  years.  It  was  not  an  unprosperous  time 
with  John ;  he  got  a  great  deal  of  money  out  of  the 
revenues  of  the  Church  and  out  of  the  Jews,  and 
made  some  successful  expeditions.  At  last,  in  12 12, 
the  Pope  published  his  sentence  of  special  excommu- 
nication against  him,  and  absolved  his  subjects  from 
their  allegiance.  Men  began  to  say  that  it  was  not 
well  to  associate  with  an  excommunicated  king ;  and 
for  words  like  these  the  archdeacon  of  Norwich, 
one  of  John's  fiscal  officers,  was  put  to  death, 
partly  by  starvation,  and  partly  by  being  weighed 
down  by  a  massive  cloak  of  lead.  Philip  II. 
of  France  was  charged  by  the  Pope  to  carry  out 
the  sentence  of  deposition,  and  threatened  to  invade 
England. 

John  now  found  himself  in  evil  case.     Wherever  he 

turned  there  was,  or  seemed  to  be,  danger  ;  the  Welsh 

rose   in    rebellion,   and  word  was    brought 

John  becomes     ■,•■,■,.■,  n      i 

the  Popes  lum  that  his  barons,  many  of  whom  he  had 
deeply  injured,  were  conspiring  against  him. 
Besides,  he  was  much  frightened  by  the  prophecy  of 
a  certain  hermit  of  Wakefield,  who  in  12 12  declared 
tliat  on  the  next  Ascension  Day  he  would  no  longer 
be  king,  a  prophecy  that  was  repeated  from  mouth  to 
mouth  all  througli  the  land.  He  now  gave  way  en- 
tirely; he  agreed  to  receive  the  archbishop,  and  to 
recompense  the  exiled  prelates  and  the  Canterbury 
monks.     On  15th  May,  12  13,  he  made  submission  to 


140    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

tlie  Pope  in  the  person  of  liis  legate,  a  sub-deacon 
named  Pandulf,  placed  liis  crown  in  Pandulf's  hands 
at  Dover,  did  liege  homage  on  receiving  it  again,  and 
promised  the  payment  of  a  yearly  tribute  of  lOOO 
marks  for  the  kingdom  of  England  and  the  lordship 
of  Ireland.  Thus  the  king  of  England  declared  him- 
self the  Pope's  vassal,  and  it  became  the  interest  of 
the  Pope  to  uphold  his  authority.  The  ecclesias- 
tical difficulty  was  over,  and  the  victory  lay  with  the 
Church.  Nevertheless  the  Church,  in  the  person  of 
the  primate,  now  dared  to  strive  against  both  Pope 
and  king  for  the  liberties  of  the  nation. 

The  barons,  who  had  stood  by  quietly  while  John 
plundered  the   Church,  felt  that  it  was  time  to  take 
measures   to   check   his   tyranny,    for  they 
and  the  Were    disgusted   at   his  pusillanimous  sub- 

mission to  the  Pope.  At  a  council  held 
at  St.  Alban's,  the  j  usticiar,  Geoffrey  Pitz-Peter,  spoke 
of  the  oath  the  king  had  taken  at  his  absolu- 
tion to  govern  well,  and  referred,  to  the  charter  of 
Henry  I.  as  a  standard  of  good  government.  He  died 
soon  after,  and  Peter  des  Koches,  bishop  of  Win- 
chester, a  Poitevin,  whom  John  chose  as  his  suc- 
cessor, was  no  friend  to  English  freedom.  The  arch- 
bishop then  came  to  the  front ;  he  held  a  council  of 
clergy  and  nobles  at  St.  Paul's,  and  produced  Henry's 
charter,  which  seems  to  have  been  lost,  and  had  it 
read  before  them.  The  barons  were  exceeding  glad 
when  they  heard  it,  and  all  took  an  oath  before 
him  that  they  would  fight  to  the  death  for  the 
liberties  it  contained.  He  promised  that  he  would 
help    them,    and    so    they   made   a    league    together. 


Vassalage.  141 

John  turned  for  lielp  to  his  liege  lord,  sent  a  large 
sum  to  the  Pope,  begging  him  to  "  confound "  tlie 
archbishop  and  excommunicate  the  barons,  and  re- 
newed his  submission  to  the  papal  legate,  Nicolas  of 
Tusculum.  This  Nicolas  filled  up  the  many  eccle- 
siastical offices  that  had  fallen  vacant  during  the 
interdict  without  regard  to  the  rights  of  patrons  or 
electors,  ordained  unfit  men,  and  set  at  nought  the 
authority  of  the  bishops.  They  appealed  to  Inno- 
cent, but  no  good  came  of  it.  Meanwhile  the 
northern  barons  maintained  an  attitude  of  opposition 
to  the  king,  and  refused  to  take  part  in  his  war 
with  Philip  of  France.  IMoreover,  the  barons  of 
Poitou  would  not  follow  him,  his  army  was  de- 
feated at  Bouvines,  and  he  came  back  to  England 
in  the  autumn  of  12 14  utterly  discredited.  During 
his  absence  the  compensation  he  had  promised  had 
been  paid  to  the  bishops  and  the  interdict  had 
been  removed,  so  that  his  peace  with  Rome  was 
now  firmly  secured.  On  the  other  hand,  the  barons, 
considering  that  the  peace  which  the  king  had 
made  with  Philip  left  them  exposed  to  his  ven- 
geance, entered  into  a  fresh  bond  of  confedera- 
tion. Accordingly  John  endeavoured,  with  some 
skill,  to  divide  his  enemies,  and  above  all  to  per- 
suade vStephen  Langton  to  desert  the  common  cause. 
Ho  issued  a  charter  granting  full  freedom  of  elec- 
tion to  the  Church.  When  a  bishopric  or  abbacy  fell 
vacant  the  royal  license  to  elect  was  to  be  granted 
without  delay ;  and  if  this  was  not  done,  the  chapter 
might  proceed  to  make  a  cononical  election  without  it, 
and  the  royal  assent  was  not  to  be  refused  unless  a 


142    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  A  ges. 

sufficient  reason  could  be  proved.  This  was  no  small 
boon,  for  the  system  of  holding  elections  in  the  royal 
court  or  chapel  put  the  choice  of  the  chapters  vir- 
tually under  the  king's  control ;  and  as  the  king 
received  the  revenues  of  vacant  bishoprics,  it  was  his 
interest  to  prolong  the  period  of  vacancy  by  delays 
and  objections.  Nevertheless  the  archbishop  was  not 
to  be  won  over. 

A  list  of  demands,  based  on  the  charter  of  Henry 
I.,  and  evidently  the  result  of  the  conferences  between 
The  Great  '^^^  archbisliop  and  the  barons,  was  pre- 
ciiarter,  1215.  ggj^ted  to  the  king.  He  asked  for  time, 
for  he  dared  not  refuse  flatly,  and  pretended  that 
he  only  wanted  to  uphold  his  dignity  by  appearing 
to  yield  of  his  own  will.  The  archbishop  arranged 
a  truce,  which  John  only  employed  in  endeavours  to 
strengthen  himself.  Stephen  Langton  therefore  gave 
his  full  sanction  to  the  assembling  of  the  barons 
in  arms  at  Stamford  in  Easter  week,  1 2 1  5 ,  imme- 
diately after  the  conclusion  of  the  truce.  John  was 
forced  to  yield  to  their  demands,  and  the  terms  of 
peace  between  him  and  his  people  form  the  Great 
Charter,  to  which  he  set  his  seal  at  Euunymead  on 
I  5  th  June.  On  that  memorable  day  the  archbishop 
and  several  bishops  stood  by  the  king  as  his  counsel- 
lors, for  they  had  not  withdrawn  themselves  from  him, 
and  took  no  part  in  the  warlike  proceedings  of  the 
baronial  party.  Two  of  them,  Peter,  the  bishop 
of  Winchester,  and  Walter  de  Gray,  bishop  of  Wor- 
cester, the  nephew  of  John  de  Gray,  for  whom  the 
king  had  tried  to  gain  the  primacy,  and,  like  him,  one 
of  John's  ministers,  were  decidedly  on  his  side.      But 


Vassalage.  143 

the  bishops,  with  Stephen  LaBgton  at  their  head,  were 
as  a  body  in  accord  with  the  nation  at  large  in  its 
successful  struggle  to  compel  the  king  to  grant  this 
acknowledgment  of  national  liberties.  Like  the  char- 
ter of  Henry  I.,  the  Great  Charter  opens  with  the 
declaration  that  the  "  English  Church  should  be  free," 
and  should  enjoy  its  full  rights  and  liberties ;  and  it 
refers  to  the  special  charter  on  this  subject  granted 
the  year  before.  It  provides  for  the  rights  of  all 
classes,  for  it  bound  the  barons  to  extend  the  same 
liberties  to  their  tenants  that  they  had  obtained  from 
the  king ;  and  this  and  other  clauses  of  general  import- 
ance are,  it  is  safe  to  assume,  in  part  at  least  to  be 
attributed  to  the  influence  of  the  bishops,  who  thus 
appear  as  the  champions  of  the  people  in  the  struggle 
for  common  rights. 

Innocent  came  to  the  help  of  his  vassal,  and,  at 
John's  request,  annulled  the  Charter  and  pronounced 
Annulled  by  Sentence  of  excommunication  against  the 
the  Poi.e.  barons,  Peter  des  Roches  and  Pandulf  were 
sent  to  the  archbishop  to  order  him  to  publish  this 
sentence,  and  on  his  refusal  suspended  him.  Stephen 
thereupon  left  the  kingdom  and  went  to  Rome.  His 
absence  was  a  great  loss  to  the  national  party,  for 
the  barons  held  him  in  awe,  and  he  kept  them 
together.  After  he  left  they  no  longer  acted  with 
the  same  wisdom,  unity,  or  national  feeling  as  before, 
and  a  large  section  joined  in  inviting  Lewis,  the  eldest 
son  of  the  French  king,  to  assume  the  crown.  T\'hen 
the  archbishop  reached  Rome  his  suspension  was  con- 
firmed by  the  Pope,  and  excommunication  was  pro- 
nounced against  the  barons  by  name  and  against  the 


144    ^^^  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

Londoners.  This  sentence  greatly  embarrassed  the 
baronial  party,  though  in  London  it  was  openly  set  at 
nought.  The  relations  between  the  Pope  and  the  king 
were  fraught  with  mischief  to  the  Church  as  well  as  to 
the  national  cause.  Besides  depriving  her  of  the  pre- 
sence of  the  primate,  Innocent  and  John  combined  to 
confer  the  see  of  Norwich  on  Pandulf,  a  third-rate 
papal  emissary,  who  was  not  even  consecrated  bishop 
until  about  seven  years  after  he  had  begun  to  draw 
the  revenues  of  the  bishopric,  and  never  resided  in, 
perhaps  never  visited,  his  diocese.  And  they  set  at 
noufrht  the  rig-hts  of  the  church  of  York,  which  had 
been  left  without  the  presence  of  an  archbishop  ever 
since  Geoffrey's  departure  in  1207.  The  chapter 
received  leave  to  elect  in  121 5,  and  chose  Simon 
Langton,  the  brother  of  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury. 
John  urged  the  Pope  not  to  confirm  the  election  of  the 
brother  of  a  man  who  was,  he  said,  his  "  public  enemy," 
and  Innocent  accordingly  forced  the  representatives  of 
the  chapter  to  recommend  the  king's  friend,  Walter, 
bishop  of  Worcester,  who  received  the  pall,  after  bind- 
ing himself  to  pay  no  less  than  ;^  10,000  to  the  Roman 
court  for  his  office.  Greatly  to  the  Pope's  chagrin, 
he  was  unable  to  prevent  Lewis  from  invading  Eng- 
land ;  and  although  his  legate,  Gualo,  excommunicated 
the  invader,  the  king's  party  dwindled.  The  tidings 
of  Innocent's  death  were  received  in  England  with 
joy ;  he  had  done  all  he  could  to  sacrifice  the  liberties 
of  the  nation  and  the  welfare  of  the  Church  to  the 
aggrandizement  of  the  papacy,  and  it  was  generally 
believed  that  his  successor,  Honorius  III,,  would  not 


Vassalage.  145 

follow  in  Lis  steps.      In  a  few  weeks  his  vassal,  John, 
likewise  died. 

Hoiiorius  was  a  wise  and   careful  guardian  to  the 
young  king,  Henry  III,  and  his  legate,  Gualo,  upheld 

the    government   of  the   earl-marshal ;    the 
jage  of  Great  Charter  was  twice  reissued,  the  French 

were  got  rid  of,  and  peace  was  restored. 
On  the  other  hand,  Gualo  dealt  hardly  with  the 
bishops  and  clergy  of  the  baronial  party.  He  de- 
prived many  of  the  clergy  of  their  benefices  and 
gave  them  to  his  own  friends ;  and  he  compelled 
the  bishops  to  pay  large  sums  to  the  Roman  court, 
and  to  give  him  considerable  gifts  also,  that  they 
mio-ht  be  allowed  to  retain  their  sees.  He  was  sue- 
ceeded  by  Pandulf.  Stephen  Langton  had  now  re- 
turned, and  was  helping  Hubert  de  Burgh  to  give 
a  thoroughly  national  character  to  the  administration. 
The  presence  of  a  Roman  legate,  which  had  certainly 
done  much,  during  the  early  years  of  the  reign,  to 
forward  the  well-being  of  the  kingdom,  became  need- 
less. Pandulf  was  overbearing,  and  thwarted  the 
archbishop  and  Hubert.  Accordingly  the  archbishop, 
who  himself  had  a  legatine  commission,  went  to  Rome, 
and  obtained  a  promise  from  the  Pope  that  no  other 
legate  should  be  appointed  as  long  as  he  lived,  and 
Pandulf  soon  afterwards  left  England,  The  position 
of  these  legates  was  extraordinary.  They  controlled 
the  ordinary  course  of  government,  directed  foreign 
politics,  and  continually  brought  the  spiritual  power 
of  the  papacy  to  bear  on  the  affairs  of  the  country. 
Through  them  their  master  acted  as  the  guardian  of 
the  young  king  and  the  suzerain  of  the  kingdom. 
C.  II.  K 


146    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

It  is  to  the  credit  of  Honorius  that  he  willingly 
brought  to  a  close  the  period  of  the  tutelage  of 
Henry  and  of  the  government  of  England  by  foreign 
legates.  From  this  date  the  legatine  authority  of  the 
archbishops  of  Canterbury  was  always  recognized  at 
Konie,  though  legates  a  latere  were  still  sent  over 
to  England  from  time  to  time  on  special  errands. 

Henry  owed  much  to  the  Pope's  care,  and  the  gra- 
titude he  consequently  felt  towards  the  Roman  see 
brought  evil  on  the  Church  and  nation.  He  became 
a  tool  in  the  hands  of  successive  Popes,  who  nsed  the 
wealth  of  the  country  for  their  own  purposes.  Eccle- 
siastical preferments  were  lavishly  conferred  on  Italian 
adventurers,  who  were  ignorant  of  the  language  of  the 
people,  and  utterly  unfit  to  be  their  spiritual  guides  ; 
and  the  clergy  were  heavily  taxed,  sometimes  for  the 
Pope's  immediate  use,  and  sometimes,  by  his  autho- 
rity, for  the  use  of  the  king,  though  the  money  thus 
raised  often  found  its  way  into  the  papal  treasury. 
Eesistauce  was  difficult,  partly  because  it  was  widely 
held  that  the  Pope,  as  the  spiritual  father  of  Christen- 
dom, had  a  right  to  the  goods  of  the  Church,  and 
partly  because,  even  when  the  king  was  angry  at  the 
papal  demands,  the  bishops  dared  not  reckon  on  his 
support,  for  his  heart  was  of  wax,  and  never  bore  the 
same  impression  long. 

The  demands  made  on  the  clergy  in  this  reign  have 
Taxation  of  ^^  important  bearing  on  the  history  of  the 
Spiritualities,  di^rch.  Although  the  movables  of  the  clergy 
had  been  taxed  for  the  Saladine  tithe  and  for  King 
Richard's  ransom,  these  were  occasions  of  a  special  cha- 
racter, and  the  taxation  of  spiritualities,  or  tithes   and 


Vassalage.  147 

ings,  for  national  purposes  cannot  be  said  to  have 
begun  until  the  Crown  and  the  papacy  had  become 
allies.  When  the  Popes  demanded  money  of  the 
clergy  for  their  own  use,  they  did  so  on  the  pretext 
of  needing  it  for  the  crusades,  an  object  which  had 
an  overwhelming  claim  on  Christendom  ;  when  they 
authorized  the  king  to  ask  for  tenths,  they  acted 
as  protectors  of  the  kingdom.  These  demands  were 
considered  in  convocation,  and  were  not  granted  with- 
out the  discussion  of  grievances  and  petitions  for 
redress.  And  as  the  levying  of  scutage  on  epis- 
copal lands  was  an  evidence  of  the  right  of  the 
bishops  to  have  an  equal  share  with  the  barons  in 
the  deliberations  of  the  great  council,  so  the  taxa- 
tion of  clerical  movables  brought  about  the  secular 
work  of  convocation.  An  example  was  thus  set  for 
the  guidance  of  the  future  parliament,  and  the  clergy 
were  prepared  to  take  their  place  as  one  of  the  estates 
of  the  realm.  The  payment  of  tenths  to  the  Pope, 
while  nominally  dependent  on  the  consent  of  the 
clergy,  was  virtually  compulsory,  and  was  constantly 
demanded  from  the  middle  of  tliis  reigrn.  The  kino- 
did  not  care  to  quarrel  with  the  papacy  on  tlie  matter, 
and  sometimes  obtained  the  papal  authority  to  demand 
them  for  his  own  use. 

Among  tlie  evils  that  the  Popes  brought  upon  the 
Church  at  this  period,  none  were  so  serious  as  those 
Papal  oppres-  ^^^^^  proceeded  from  their  interference  with 
*'*'"•  the    rights   of  patronage.      This  was   ordi- 

narily effected  by  "  provisions  "  or  simple  announce- 
ments that  the  Pope  had  provided  a  person,  named 
or   unnamed,    for   a   vacant    benefice.      The    light  in 


148    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

which  English  benefices  were  regarded  at  Rome  was 
shown  as  early  as  1 2  2  6,  when  Honorius  sent  a  de- 
mand, not  indeed  confined  to  England,  that  two  pre- 
bends in  every  cathedral  church  should  be  made  over 
to  the  papacy.  This  demand  was  rejected  by  the 
bishops.  While  Honorius  and  his  legates  did  not 
watch  over  the  young  king  for  nought,  the  relations 
between  England  and  the  papacy  entered  on  a  new 
and  darker  phase  with  the  accession  of  Gregory  IX. ; 
for  he  used  this  country  to  supply  him  with  money 
for  his  war  with  the  Emperor  Frederic  II.  Moreover, 
the  death  of  Stephen  Langton  in  1228  deprived  the 
Church  and  nation  of  one  of  the  ablest  champions  of 
national  rights.  Stephen,  the  papal  collector — there 
was  now  always  an  officer  of  this  kind  resident  in  Eng- 
land— roused  general  indignation  by  his  conduct.  He 
had  brought  over  with  him  a  tribe  of  usurers,  and 
fear  of  papal  censure  drove  men  to  have  recourse  to 
them ;  so  the  collector  and  the  money-lenders  played 
into  one  another's  hands.  The  rights  of  patrons  were 
set  aside,  and  many  livings  were  held  by  Italians,  who 
never  came  near  them,  and  farmed  them  out  to  others. 
The  wrath  of  the  people  broke  forth  in  1332.  A 
secret  league  was  formed  under  the  direction  of  a 
Yorkshire  knight,  named  Robert  Twenge,  who  called 
himself  William  Wither.  Letters  were  sent  to  the 
bishops  and  chapters  warning  them  against  obeying 
provisions ;  and  bands  of  armed  knights,  with  masks 
on  their  faces,  burst  open  the  granaries  of  the  Italian 
clerks,  distributed  their  corn  among  the  people,  and 
robbed  and  beat  the  foreigners  on  the  highways. 
Hubert    de    Burgh,    the   chief  justiciar,    was   said   to 


Vassalage.  149 

have  been  concerned  in  the  movement,  and  the  accu- 
sation hastened  his  fall.  Still,  the  Pope  saw  that  it 
was  advisable  to  give  way,  and  sent  letters  confirm- 
ing the  rights  of  private  patrons.  On  the  death  of 
Stephen  Langton  the  Pope  took  a  further  step  to- 
wards the  enslavement  of  the  English  Church  by- 
treating  the  course  taken  by  Innocent  III.  with 
reference  to  Langton's  election  as  a  precedent  for 
future  action.  At  the  request  of  the  king,  who 
offered  Gregory  the  bribe  of  a  tenth  on  all  movables 
throughout  his  kingdom,  he  set  aside  the  choice  of 
the  chapter  and  nominated  Richard  Grant  to  the 
archbishopric. 

When    llichard  died  in    1234,  Gregory  confirmed 

this  precedent  by  quashing  three  successive  elections 

of  the  chapter,  and  compellinEf  the  monks 

Edmund  Rich,  Vn  t     -n-    i  -^  t 

iirchbishop,  to  accopt  Ldmuud  Kich.  Ldmund  had 
been  famous  as  a  teacher  at  Oxford ;  he 
was  pious,  and  had  considerable  political  talent.  He 
saw  with  indignation  the  overwhelming  influence 
exercised  by  the  Poitevin  and  other  foreign  favourites 
of  the  king,  against  which  the  bishops  as  a  body 
were  steadily  working.  He  at  once  took  the  head- 
ship of  the  national  party,  and  though  the  Pope 
favoured  the  foreigners,  compelled  the  king  by  a 
threat  of  excommunication  to  dismiss  Peter  des 
Roches  and  his  adherents.  Nevertheless  no  per- 
manent reform  was  effected,  and  the  king's  marriage 
was  followed  by  a  fresh  influx  of  foreigners,  many  of 
whom  were  provided  for  at  tlie  expense  of  the  Church. 
Appeals  to  Rome  were  multiplied,  and  efforts  were 
made  to  displace  the  common  law  for  the  canon  law. 


150    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

These  efforts  caused  mucli  displeasure ;  and  when  it 
was  proposed  at  the  Council  of  Merton  to  bring  the 
Council  of  ^^^  o^  legitimacy  into  conformity  with 
Mertou,  1236.  ^j^g  Yq,w  of  E,ome,  the  barons  answered, 
"  We  will  not  suffer  the  laws  of  England  to  be 
changed."  The  archbishop's  authority  was  weakened 
by  the  arrival  of  the  legate  Otho,  who,  in  1237, 
held  a  council  at  London,  in  which  he  caused  a  large 
body  of  constitutions  to  be  accepted.  Fresh  demands 
were  made  by  Gregory  both  for  money  and  patronage, 
and  against  these  the  archbishop  and  clergy  protested 
in  vain,  fort  he  Pope  was  upheld  by  the  king.  Never- 
theless Henry  now  and  then  grew  restive  under  the 
papal  yoke,  for  he  knew  that  he  and  his  kingdom  were 
being  ruined,  and  once,  when  an  unusually  large  demand 
was  made  upon  him,  told  the  legate,  with  oaths  and 
bitter  words,  that  he  was  sorry  he  had  ever  allowed  him 
to  land  in  his  kingdom.  Edmund  found  himself  set  at 
nought  by  the  legate,  thwarted  by  the  king  and  the 
Pope,  and  utterly  unable  to  check  the  evils  by  which 
the  Church  was  oppressed.  His  troubles  reached  a 
climax  in  1240,  when  Gregory,  in  order  to  bind  the 
Koman  citizens  to  his  side,  determined  to  distribute 
the  benefices  of  England  among  their  sons  and 
nephews,  and  ordered  the  archbishop  and  two  of 
the  bishops  to  provide  benefices  for  as  many  as  three 
hundred  Roman  ecclesiastics.  Edmund  left  the  king- 
dom in  despair,  and  died  the  same  year,  and  Henry 
procured  the  election  of  Boniface  of  Savoy,  the 
queen's  uncle,  a  man  of  worldly  mind  and  small 
ability,  who,  though  not  without  some  sense  of  duty, 
was  chiefly  guided  by  his  own  interests. 


Vassalage.  1 5 1 

The  noblest  figui-e  in  tlio  history  of  tlie  Churcli  at 
this  period  is  that  of  Robert  Grosseteste,  bishop  of 
Robert  Grosse-  Lincoln,  and  master  of  all  sciences,  as  Roger 
ofuncohr^'  Bacon  declared  him  to  be.  He  was  also  a 
1235-1253.  xaoxi  of  action ;  his  life  was  holy  and  his 
courage  invincible.  He  was  a  warm  friend  of  the 
mendicant  friars,  the  Franciscans  and  Dominicans, 
who  were  established  in  England  in  the  early  part  of 
this  reign.  The  work  of  these  Orders,  which  will  be 
described  in  another  volume  of  this  series,  produced 
a  vast  effect  on  the  Church,  not  merely  by  moving 
the  laity  of  every  class,  especially  in  towns,  to  repent- 
ance and  confession,  and  by  imparting  new  life  to 
Oxford,  but  also  by  stirring  up  the  clergy  to  efforts 
after  better  things.  A  new  light  was  shining;  and 
children  of  the  light,  such  as  was  Robert  Grosseteste, 
were  glad  to  walk  in  it,  while  even  others  were  conscious 
that  it  would  be  well  to  prevent  men  perceiving  that 
they  loved  darkness.  Grosseteste  was  anxious  for  the 
reformation  of  his  diocese,  the  largest  and  most  popu- 
lous in  England,  and  was  active  in  the  work  of  visitation. 
His  canons  refused  his  visitation,  and  he  had  a  long  suit 
with  them,  which  established  the  right  of  bishops  to  visit 
their  chapters.  He  endeavoured  to  enforce  celibacy  on 
his  clergy,  for  clerical  marriages  seem  to  have  been 
common,  and  ordered  them  to  prevent  excessive  drink- 
ing and  feasting,  the  practice  of  sports  and  plays  in 
churches  and  churchyards,  and  all  private  marriages. 
He  took  part  in  a  movement  from  which  the  Church 
still  reaps  benefit,  the  erection  of  vicarages,  setting 
apart  in  rectories  subject  to  monastic  appropriation  a 
sufficient  portion  of  land  and  tithe  for  the  perpetual 


152    The  English  Church  in  the  IIiddle  Ages. 

and  independent  endowment  of  the  vicarage.  The 
king  sometimes  yielded  to  his  influence  ;  but  Henry 
never  remained  long  under  one  influence,  especially  if 
it  was  for  good.  Grosseteste  always  acted  under  a 
strong  sense  of  spiritual  responsibility ;  he  held  that 
the  Pope,  when  he  was  in  need,  had  a  right  to  the 
goods  of  the  clergy,  and  did  not  shrink  from  carrying 
out  his  demands.  Nor  did  he  raise  any  objection  to 
the  appointment  of  papal  nominees  to  English  bene- 
fices on  the  ground  of  their  foreign  birth,  or  even 
their  ignorance  of  English.  If,  however,  they  were 
unfit  for  their  duties,  either  spiritually  or  canonically, 
his  reverence  for  the  Pope  did  not  blind  him,  and  he 
refused  to  present  them,  Nor  did  he  ever  hesitate  to 
resist  the  king's  unrighteous  oppression  of  the  Church. 
Henry's  demands  on  both  clergy  and  laity  in  1 244 
brought  about  an  attempt  at  combined  resistance  by 
the  bishops  and  barons.  He  met  the  resistance  of  the 
clergy  by  producing  letters  from  the  Pope,  Innocent 
IV.,  bidding  them  support  his  "  dearest  son."  Some 
of  the  clergy  and  laity  alike  wavered.  "  Let  us  not 
be  divided  from  the  common  counsel,"  Grosseteste 
said,  "  for  it  is  written,  If  we  are  divided  we  shall  all 
straightway  perish."  Unfortunately  the  two  orders 
had  not  yet  learnt  the  necessity  of  standing  by  each 
other,  and  the  alliance  failed. 

Innocent  IV.  made  at  least  as  large  demands  on 
England  as  Gregory  had  done,  and  treated  her  with 
Extortion  and   ^orc  cyuical  iusoleuce.      His  envoy,  Martin, 

remonstrance.     ^^^  j-j^g  j^-^^  ^^^  ^^  ^^^^  gOaded   the   long- 

suffering  nation  to  violence.  Fulk  Fitz-Warin  came 
to  him  with  the  short  message,  "  Leave  England,  and 


Vassalage.  153 

begone  forthwith."  "  Who  bids  me  ?  Did  anv  one 
send  you  ?  "  asked  the  legate.  Fulk  told  him  that  he 
was  sent  by  the  baronage  assembled  in  arms  at  a 
tournament,  and  warned  him  that  if  he  delayed  to 
depart  till  the  third  day  he  and  all  his  "  would  be  cut 
to  pieces."  The  trembling  legate  complained  to  the 
king.  Henry,  however,  told  liira  that  he  could  not 
restrain  his  barons.  "For  the  love  of  God  and  the 
reverence  of  my  lord  the  Pope,  give  me  a  safe-con- 
duct !  "  the  legate  prayed.  "  The  devil  give  you  a  safe- 
conduct  to  hell,  and  all  through  it !  "  was  the  answer  of 
the  perplexed  and  petulant  king.  A  strong  remon- 
strance, in  the  form  of  a  letter  from  the  people  of 
England,  was  read  by  the  English  representatives  at 
the  Council  of  Lyons,  in  which  it  was  stated  that 
Italian  ecclesiastics  drew  over  60,000  marks  a  year 
from  the  country.  For  a  while  Henry,  who  was 
thoroughly  alarmed  at  the  state  of  affairs,  wished  to 
check  the  drain  of  money  to  Rome,  and  wrote  to 
Grosseteste  complaining  that  the  bishops  had  under- 
taken to  collect  a  tallage  which  the  Pope  had  laid  on 
the  clergy.  Grosseteste  replied  that  they  were  bound  to 
obey  their  spiritual  father  and  mother  (the  Pope  and 
the  Church)  then  in  exile  and  suffering  persecution, 
for  the  papal  court  was  still  in  exile  at  Lyons.  This 
view  was  taken  by  many  noble-minded  churchmen, 
and  especially  by  the  friars,  who,  though  they  proved 
themselves  the  friends  of  constitutional  freedom, 
strongly  maintained  the  duty  of  supporting  the  Popes 
in  their  struggle  with  the  Empire. 

Henry  soon  returned  to  his  old  relations  with  the 
Pope,  and  matters  went  from  bad  to  worse.      A  grant 


154    ^^^  English  Church  in  the  II/ddle  Ages. 

of  the  tenths  of  spiritualities  was  made  liim  by  Inno- 
cent in  1252.  His  proctors  appeared  before  an 
assembly  of  bishops,  and  without  asking  them  to 
allow  the  tax,  proposed  its  immediate  collection. 
The  bishop  of  Lincoln  rose  in  anger.  "  What  is 
this,  by  our  Lady  ? "  he  said.  "  You  are  taking 
matters  for  granted.  Do  you  suppose  that  we  will 
consent  to  this  cursed  tax  ?  Let  us  never  bow  the 
knee  to  Baal."  The  king  tried  in  vain  to  frighten 
some  of  the  bishops  by  threatening  them  separately. 
The  next  year  he  obtained  a  grant,  and  in  return 
confirmed  the  Great  Charter  and  the  Forest  Charter. 
Special  solemnity  was  given  to  this  act  by  the  bishops. 
Excommunication  was  pronounced  against  all  who 
broke  the  charters,  and  when  it  had  been  read  they 
dashed  the  candles  which  they  carried  to  the  ground,  say- 
ing, "  So  let  those  who  incur  this  sentence  be  quenched 
and  stink  in  hell ; "  while  the  king  swore  to  observe 
the  charters  "  as  a  man,  a  Christian,  a  knight,  a  king 
crowned  and  anointed."  Robert  Grosseteste  died  soon 
after  this  ceremony,  lamenting  with  his  latest  breath 
the  oppressions  of  the  Church,  and  declaring  that  her 
deliverance  would  only  be  effected  by  the  sword. 
Shortly  before  his  death  he  showed  how  greatly  his 
feelings  had  been  changed  towards  the  papacy  by  the 
Robert  arosse-  troublcs  that  it  had  brought  upon  England. 
totnnociuf  Innoccnt  ordered  him  to  induct  one  of  his 
IV.,  1253.  nephews  into  a  prebendal  stall  at  Lincoln, 
adding  a  clause  by  which  the  Popes  used  to  over- 
ride all  law  —  Non  obstante,  any  privilege  of  the 
church  notwithstanding.  He  refused  in  a  letter  in 
which  he  speaks  plainly  of  the  Pope's  conduct,  say- 


Vassalage.  155 

ing  that  it  was  not  apostolic,  and  reminding  liim 
that  there  was  no  sin  so  hateful  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  as  that  men  should  take  the  milk  and  the 
wool  of  Christ's  sheep  and  betray  the  flock,  "When 
Innocent  heard  this  letter  read,  he  declared  that  the 
bishop  was  a  "  deaf  old  dotard,"  and  that  his  "  vassal," 
the  king,  ought  to  imprison  him.  Here,  however,  the 
cardinals  interfered,  and  told  the  Pope  that  that  might 
not  be,  for  the  bishop  was  better  and  holier  than  any 
of  them,  a  great  philosopher  and  scholar. 

Matters  were  brought  to  a  crisis  by  the  offer  of 
the  crown  of  Sicily  to  Henry  for  his  younger  son, 
Tiic  English  Edmund,  first  made  by  Innocent  IV.,  and 
^utd'^fi'om^''"'  confirmed  by  his  successor,  Alexander  IV., 
papacy.  jj-^  ^^g  h-Qi^Q  of  using  the  wealth  of  England 

to  crush  Conrad,  and  afterwards  Manfred,  the  sons  of 
Frederic  II.  Henry  greedily  swallowed  the  bait,  and 
incurred  an  enormous  debt  to  the  Pope  for  the  war 
in  Apulia.  By  the  advice  of  Peter,  the  Provencal 
bishop  of  Hereford,  he  tried  to  satisfy  the  Pope  by 
the  shameful  trick  of  attaching  the  seals  of  the 
bishops,  without  their  knowledge,  to  blank  bonds,  to 
be  filled  up  as  the  Pope  chose.  Alexander  IV.  treated 
the  English  Church  as  insolently  as  his  predecessor. 
Soon  after  the  appointment  of  an  Englishman  to  the 
deanery  of  York  in  1256,  an  Italian  cardinal  ap- 
peared in  the  church,  and  was  installed  as  dean  by 
his  companions  ;  he  had  been  "  provided "  by  the 
Pope.  The  archbishop,  Sewal  de  Bovil,  had  been  a 
pupil  of  Edmund  of  Canterbury,  by  that  time  canon- 
ized, and  was  a  friend  of  the  famous  Oxford  Fran- 
ciscan, Adam    Marsh.     He    successfully  resisted    the 


156    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

intrusion.  His  courage  brought  excommunication  on 
Death  of  Sewai  ^^^^  ^^^  ^"^  interdict  on  his  church,  and 
bfsho°p  of  York,  ^^  ^^^^  broken-hearted,  after  sending  a 
^^^^'  letter  to  the  Pope  bidding  him  remember 

that  the  Lord's  charge  to  Peter  was  to  "  feed  His  sheep, 
not  shear  them  or  devour  them."  In  1256,  Alex- 
ander's envoy,  Rustand,  pressed  the  bishops  for  a 
tenth  for  three  years  for  the  Sicilian  scheme.  Fulk, 
bishop  of  London,  declared  that  he  would  sooner  lose 
his  head ;  and  Walter  of  Cantelupe,  bishop  of  Wor- 
cester, that  he  would  sooner  be  hanged,  Henry,  as 
his  wont  was,  abused  Fulk,  and  threatened  that  the 
Pope  should  deprive  him.  "  Let  them  take  away  my 
mitre,  I  shall  still  keep  my  helmet,"  was  the  bishop's 
answer.  The  clergy  remonstrated  against  the  envoy's 
proposal  in  their  diocesan  synods,  and,  thanks  to  the 
opposition  offered  by  the  lay  barons,  the  Pope  and  the 
king  were  defeated.  The  reverence  which  Englishmen 
formerly  had  for  the  Roman  Church  had  now  disap- 
peared, and  bitter  and  contemptuous  feelings  had  taken 
its  place.  The  venality  of  the  papal  court  and  the 
wrongs  of  the  Church  were  the  favourite  themes  of 
the  ballad-singer ;  and  English  monks  loved  to  tell 
of  visions  which  represented  Innocent  as  dying  struck 
by  the  spear  of  the  glorified  bishop  of  Lincoln,  and  of 
the  sentence  pronounced  against  him  by  the  Eternal 
Judge  on  the  accusation  of  the  Church  he  had  per- 
secuted and  degraded. 

The  evil  and  wasteful  administration  of  the  kinjjf 
led  the  barons,  in  1258,  to  place  a  direct  check  on 
the  executive,  and  force  Henry  to  accept  the  Provisions 
of  Oxford.      Simon  de  Montfort,  earl  of  Leicester,  the 


Vassalage.  157 

greatest  of  tlic  baronial  party,  had  been  an  intimate 
friend   of  Grosseteste,  who  had  consoled  and   striven 

to  help  him  in  a  time  of  trouble,  while 
mid  the  ijarons"  Adam  Marsh  had  been  his  spiritual  adviser. 

Simon  was  anxious  for  the  welfare  of  the 
Church  ;  and  the  patriotic  party  among  the  bishops 
and  the  clergy  as  a  body  clung  steadfastly  to  him 
to  the  last.  The  national  cause,  which  was  already 
weakened  by  disunion,  received  a  severe  blow  in 
1 26 1,  when  the  Pope  absolved  the  king  from  his 
promises,  and  annulled  the  Provisions  of  Oxford. 
Two  years  later  the  civil  war  began.  After  doing  all 
he  could  to  make  peace,  Walter  of  Cantelupe  threw 
in  his  lot  with  Earl  Simon.  Before  the  battle  of 
Lewes,  he  and  Henry,  bishop  of  London,  brought  to 
the  king  the  terms  offered  by  the  baronial  leaders  ;  and 
when  they  were  rejected.  Bishop  Walter  absolved  the 
barons'  soldiers,  and  exhorted  them  to  quit  themselves 
monfiilly  in  the  fight.  The  alliance  between  the  Church 
and  Simon  de  Montfort  is  manifest  in  the  legislation 
that  followed  tke  earl's  victory  :  the  sphere  of  ecclesi- 
jistical  jurisdiction  was  enlarged,  and  three  bishops 
were  appointed  to  inquire  into  grievances.  Guide,  the 
legate  of  Urban,  was  refused  admission  into  England  ; 
he  excommunicated  the  barons,  ordered  Walter  of  Can- 
telupe and  other  bishops  to  meet  him  in  France,  and 
sent  them  back  to  publish  the  sentence  in  England. 
Their  papers  were  seized  and  destroyed,  probably  not 
against  their  will,  by  the  people  of  the  Cinque  Ports. 
The  next  year,  when  the  earl  found  himsi'lf  in  the  pov,-er 
of  his  foes  at  Evesham,  the  aged  bishop  of  Worcester 
asain  shrived  his  host  before  the   battle.      After  the 


158    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages, 

defeat  and  death  of  Simon,  Clement  IV.,  tlie  Guido 
who  had  been  Urban's  legate,  sent  Ottoboni  over 
to  England  as  legate.  Ottoboni  suspended  the  five 
bishops  who  had  upheld  the  cause  of  freedom  ;  the 
bishop  of  Worcester  died  the  next  year,  and  the 
others  journeyed  to  Rome,  and  there  purchased  their 
reconciliation.  He  also  did  what  he  could  to  bririg 
the  rebellion  to  an  end  by  ecclesiastical  censures. 
Peace  was  completely  restored  in  1267;  the  king's 
elder  son,  Edward,  went  on  a  crusade  to  Syria,  and 
the  Church  and  the  country  had  a  period  of  rest. 

To  speak  only  of  the  ecclesiastical  consequences  of 
the  Barons'  War,  it  may  be  said  in  a  great  measure  to 
have  reversed  the  policy  of  Innocent  III.,  in  that  it 
did  much  towards  freeing  England  from  vassalage  to 
the  papacy ;  for  the  Popes  were  no  longer  able  to 
enforce  their  claim  to  interfere  as  suzerains  in  her 
affairs.  Further,  it  taught  Edward  the  importance 
of  adopting  a  national  policy,  of  giving  each  order  in 
the  kingdom  a  definite  place  in  the  constitution,  and 
thus  strengthening  the  national  character  of  the 
Church  \  while  it  also  showed  him  that  if  he  would 
rule  the  Church  and  make  its  wealth  available  for 
his  own  purposes,  he  would  gain  nothing  by  seeking 
papal  help,  and  should  rather  enlist  the  services  of 
churchmen  as  his  ministers. 

The  magnificent  pontificate  of  Innocent  III.  did  not 

fail  to  affect  the  spirit  of  the  English  Church   and  its 

relations   towards   the    State  ;    it   naturally 

oftheoieri-      led  to  a  hio'her  idea  of  the  dio-nity  of  the 

cal  oflBce.  .  . 

clerical  office.     Partly  from  this  cause,  and 
partly  owing  to  the  religious  revival  effected  by  the 


Vassalage.  159 

friars,  tlie  feeling  galliered  strengtli  tliat  it  was 
sinful  for  ecclesiastics  to  hold  secular  posts,  a  point 
for  which  Grosseteste  contended  with  much  earnest- 
ness. AVith  the  growth  of  the  papal  power  there 
grew  up  also  a  desire  among  the  clergy  to  liberate 
the  administration  of  ecclesiastical  law  from  the  con- 
trol of  secular  courts,  and  the  spirit  of  Innocent 
may  be  discerned  in  Grosseteste's  argument,  that  it 
was  sinful  for  secular  judges  to  determine  whether 
cases  belonged  to  an  ecclesiastical  or  a  secular  tri- 
bunal. The  study  of  the  civil  and  canon  laws  was 
eagei'ly  pursued  ;  it  was  stimulated  by  the  influence  of 
the  large  number  of  foreign  ecclesiastics,  and  even 
common  lawyers  found  in  it  a  scientific  basis  for 
their  own  law.  Clerical  jurists  were  naturally  aggres- 
sive, and  the  party  devoted  to  the  increase  of  clerical 
nival  systems  dignity  and  power  strove  to  displace  the 
of  law.  national  by  the  foreign  system.      The  nation 

at  large,  hating  the  foreigners  who  preyed  upon  the 
country,  was  strongly  opposed  to  the  introduction  of 
foreign  law,  and  this  opposition  prompted  the  reply  of 
the  barons  to  the  proposal  made  at  Merton  in  1 2  3  6,  when 
an  attempt  was  made  to  change  the  law  of  England, 
which  was,  on  the  point  in  question,  held  by  Grosse- 
teste and  the  clergy  generally  to  be  sinful,  and  to  bring 
it  into  accordance  with  the  law  of  Rome.  And  the 
same  feeling  had  led,  not  long  before,  to  the  compulsory 
closing  of  the  schools  of  civil  and  canon  law  in 
Lond(.)n.  On  the  other  hand,  the  authority  of  these 
laws  was  upheld  by  the  policy  of  Gregory  IX.  A 
code  of  papal  decrees  was  compiled  with  his  sanction, 
and  he  Avas  anxious  to  procure  its  acceptance  through- 


i6o    The  English  Church  in  the  HIiddle  Ages. 

out  Latin  Christendom.  "What  may  almost  be  de- 
scribed as  a  corresponding  step  was  taken  in  England 
by  the  publication  of  a  series  of  constitutions  which 
formed  the  foundation  of  our  national  canon  law — 
the  constitutions  of  Stephen  Langton,  of  the  legates 
Otho  and  Ottoboni,  of  Boniface  of  Savoy,  and  other 
archbishops.  In  some  of  these  a  considerable  advance 
in  the  pretensions  of  the  clergy  is  evident.  The 
work  of  Edward  T.  in  assigning  the  clerical  estate  its 
place  in  the  scheme  of  national  government,  in  forc- 
ing it  to  bear  its  own  (often  an  unduly  large)  share 
in  the  national  burdens,  and  in  limiting  and  defin- 
ing the  area  of  clerical  jurisdiction  and  lawful  pre- 
tensions so  as  to  prevent  them  from  trenching  on 
the  national  system,  will  form  the  main  subject  of  the 
next  chapter. 


(     I6i     ) 


CHAPTER  YIIL 

THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  NATION. 

CHARACTER  OF  THE  REIGN  OF  EDWARD  I. — ARCHBISHOP  PECK- 
HAM— STATUTE  OF  MORTMAIN — CONQUEST  OF  WALES — CIR- 
CUMSPECTE  AGATIS — EXPULSION  OF  THE  JEWS — CLERICAL 
TAXATION  AND  REPRESENTATION  IN  PARLIAMENT — BREACH 
BETWEEN  THE  CROAYN  AND  THE  PAPACY — CONFIRMATION  OF 
THE  CHARTERS — ARCHBISHOP  WINCHELSEY  AND  THE  RIGHTS 
OF  THE  CROWN — THE  ENGLISH  PARLIAMENT  AND  PAPAL 
EXACTIONS — CHURCH  AND  STATE  DURING  THE  REIGN  OF 
EDWARD  II.  —  PAPAL  PROVISIONS  TO  BISHOPRICS  —  THE 
BISHOPS  AND  SECULAR  POLITICS — THE  PROVINCE  OF  YORK 
— PARLIAMENT  AND  CONVOCATION. 

In  the  reign  of  Edward  I.  the  relations  between 
tlie  Church  and  the  Crown  were  dehned  and  settled 
Edward  I.  ^^  ^  Constitutional  basis,  and  the  clergy 
1272-1307.  -svere    assigned    their    own    place    in    the 

national  system.  The  king  was  a  great  lawgiver, 
and  out  of  a  chaotic  mass  of  customs  and  institutions 
chose  those  best  adapted  to  create  an  orderly  polity, 
in  which  every  class  of  men  fitted  for  political  pur- 
poses had  its  own  share  both  of  rights  and  duties. 
At  the  same  time,  he  had  no  intention  of  giving  up 
any  of  the  prerogatives  of  the  Crown,  for  he  both 
loved  power  for  its  own  sake  and  was  in  constant  need 
c.  II.  I* 


1 62    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

of  money.  His  reign  was,  tlierefore,  full  of  struggles 
with  those  to  whom  he  was  giving  ascertained  rights 
to  share  in  the  government.  He  met  with  con- 
siderable opposition  from  the  clergy,  for  the  influence 
of  the  mendicant  revival  was  directed  to  uphold  the 
papal  pret.ensions,  and  as  far  as  possible  to  render  the 
Church  independent  of  the  State.  The  main  his- 
tory of  his  struggles  with  the  clergy  assumes  two  dis- 
tinct phases  during  the  periods  of  the  archiepiscopates 
of  Peckham  and  Winchelsey.  Peckham  contended 
chiefly  for  the  privileges  of  the  National  Church  ;  and 
the  king,  who  still  remained  in  accord  with  Rome, 
got  the  better  of  him,  and  prevented  clerical  privilege 
from  hindering  his  scheme  of  national  government. 
Fortunately  for  the  Church  and  the  nation,  the  hold  of 
the  Pope  upon  the  country  was  loosened  by  the  breach 
of  the  accord  between  the  papacy  and  the  Crown  which 
had  existed  ever  since  the  submission  of  John,  This 
breach  was  brought  about  by  the  extravagant  preten- 
sions of  Rome.  During  the  latter  part  of  the  reign, 
Winchelsey  endeavoured  to  uphold  these  pretensions, 
as  he  was  to  some  extent  bound  to  do  by  his  office. 
He  did  not,  however,  confine  himself,  as  Peckham  had 
done,  simply  to  an  ecclesiastical  policy ;  for  he  took 
a  leading  part  in  various  attempts  to  diminish  the 
power  of  the  Crown,  and  sought  to  secure  a  separate 
position  for  the  Church,  with  the  Pope  instead  of 
the  king  as  her  ruler,  by  allying  himself  with  the 
party  of  opposition.  Edward  was  forced  to  yield  to 
the  political  demands  made  upon  him ;  but  he  suc- 
cessfully maintained  the  rights  of  the  Crown  over  the 
Church,  and  punished  the  archbishop  for  the  part  he 


The  Church  and  the  Nation.  163 

had  taken  against  him.  The  clergy  equally  with  the 
laity  had  to  beax-  their  share  of  the  national  burdens ; 
the  claims  of  Kome  were  defeated,  and  the  parliament 
set  out  on  the  course  of  resistance  to  the  papal 
usurpations  which  found  its  completion  in  the  six- 
teenth, century. 

During  the  early  years  of  Edward's  reign  matters 
went  on  smoothly  between  the  Cliurch  and  the  Crown. 
Gregory  X.  was  the  king's  friend,  and  had  accompanied 
him  on  his  crusade ;  and  his  chief  adviser  and  chan- 
cellor was  Robert  Burnell,  a  churchman  of  great  ability 
and  wisdom,  who  thoroughly  understood  how  to  for- 
ward his  master's  ecclesiastical  policy.  Before  Ed- 
ward became  king  he  had  endeavoured  to  prevail 
on  the  monks  of  Christ  Church  to  elect  Burnell 
to  succeed  Archbishop  Boniface.  Nevertheless  they 
chose  another  as  archbishop ;  the  king  refused  his 
assent  to  the  election,  and  Gregory,  to  put 
Ki^wui'dby,  an  end  to  the  vacancy,  appointed  Robert 
1273,  res.  127  .  -^•|^^,j^^,^ijy^  ^  Dominican  friar.      Kilwardby, 

however,  was  by  no  means  sufficiently  vigorous  in 
asserting  the  rights  of  the  Church  to  satisfy  Nicolas 
III.,  and  allowed  the  privileges  of  the  clergy  in 
matters  of  jurisdiction  to  be  curtailed  by  statute. 
Nicolas  accordingly  raised  him  to  the  cardinalate 
in  1278,  called  him  to  Rome,  and  thus  forced  him 
to  resign  the  archbishopric.  Edward  secured  the 
election  of  his  friend  and  minister,  Burnell,  then 
bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells,  and  urged  the  Pope  to 
confirm  it.  H&  was  again  foiled ;  for  Nicolas,  after 
causing  inquiries  to  be  made  as  to  the  fitness  of  the 
archbishop-elect,   informed    the    king    that    he    could 


164    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

not  assent  to  his  request,  and  appointed  Jolm  Peck- 
ham,  the  provincial  of  the  English  Franciscans,  laying 
down  the  rule  that,  as  the  death  of  a  pre- 

Archbishop  iii  -i 

Peckiiaro,         late  at  Komo  had  long  been  held  to  give  the 
Pope  the  right  of  appointing  a  successor,  a 
resignation,  which  was,  he  declared,  an  analogous  event, 
had  the  same  effect. 

Kobert  Burnell  and  the  new  archbishop  were  ex- 
treme types  of  two  opposite  sorts  of  churchmen. 
The  chancellor,  who  was  wholly  devoted  to  the  king's 
service,  was  a  statesman  of  high  order.  He  was 
magnificent  in  his  tastes  and  expenditure,  held  many 
rich  preferments,  and  took  care  that  his  relations 
also  should  be  enriched  out  of  the  wealth  of  the 
Church.  His  mode  of  life  was  secular,  and  the  grand 
matches  that  he  arranged  for  his  daughters  created  no 
small  scandal.  Peckham,  on  the  other  hand,  was  a 
.model  friar,  pious  and  learned,  with  exalted  ideas  of 
the  rights  of  the  papacy  and  the  privileges  of  the 
clergy.  He  was  fearless  and  conscientious,  unwise 
and  impracticable.  Between  him  and  Bishop  Robert 
and  the  other  clerical  advisers  of  the  king  there  was,  of 
course,  no  sympathy.  He  was  anxious  that  the  digni- 
ties and  benefices  of  the  Church  should  be  worthily 
bestowed,  and  laboured  to  carry  out  the  injunctions  of 
Nicolas  III.  against  the  prevalent  abuse  of  pluralities. 
On   this   matter   Peckham   wrote   plainly   to   Edward 

that  he  would  obligfe  him  as  far  as  he  mio-ht  with- 
er o 

out  offending  God,  but  could  go  no  further,  and 
that  he  was  already  sneered  at  for  "  conniving  at  the 
damnable  multitude  of  benefices  held  by  his  clerks." 
Nicolas   strove    to    check   the   promotion   of  secular- 


The  Church  and  the  Nation.  165 

minded  bisliops,  and  when  Edward  procured  tlie  elec- 
tion of  Burnell  to  the  see  of  Winchester,  ordered  the 
chapter  to  proceed  to  another  election.  Peckham 
was  blamed  for  this,  and  it  was  also  alleged  that  he 
had  used  his  influence  at  Rome  against  another  of  the 
king's  ministers,  Anthony  Bek,  afterwards  the  warlike 
bishop  of  Durham.  However,  he  denied  that  he  had 
said  anything  to  hinder  the  promotion  of  either. 

Almost  immediately  on  his  arrival  in  England  in 
1279,  the  archbishop  came  into  collision  with  the 
king.  He  held  a  provincial  council  at  Reading,  in 
which,  besides  publishing  the  canons  of  the  Council 
of  Lyons  against  pluralities,  he  decreed  that  excom- 
munication should  be  pronounced  against  all  who 
obtained  the  king's  writ  to  stop  proceedings  in  eccle- 
siastical suits  against  any  royal  officer  who  refused  to 
carry  out  the  sentence  of  a  spiritual  court,  and  against 
all  who  impugned  the  Great  Charter;  and  further 
ordered  that  the  clergy  should  expound  these  decrees 
to  their  parishioners,  and  affix  copies  of  the  Charter 
to  the  doors  of  cathedral  and  collegiate  churches. 
These  decrees  were  a  direct  challenge  to  the  king, 
and  Edward  treated  thera  as  such ;  for  in  his  next 
parliament  he  compelled  Peckham  to  revoke  them, 
and  to  declare  that  nothing  that  had  been  done  at 
the  councU  should  be  held  to  prejudice  the  rights  of 
the  Crown  or  the  kingdom. 

Edward  further  rebuffed  the  archbishop  by  publish- 
ino-  the  statute  "  De  Religiosis "  or  "  of  Mortmain." 
This  statute,  though,  as  regards  the  date  of  its  pro- 
mulgation part  of  Edward's  answer  to  Peckham's 
assumption,    was   directed  against    an    abuse  of  long 


1 66    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

standing,  and  was  in  strict  accordance  with  tlie  king's 

general  policy.      It  forbade,  on  pain  of  forfeiture,  the 

alienation  of  land  to  religious  bodies  which 

statute  of  .  1  T  /^  f>  •  j_i 

Mortmain,        Were  mcapablo  of  perlormmg  the  services 
'^'^"  due  from  it.      Land  so  conveyed  was  said  to 

be  in  mortmain,  or  in  a  dead  hand,  because  it  no 
longer  yielded  profit  to  the  lord,  who  was  thus  de- 
frauded of  his  right  of  service,  escheat,  and  other 
feudal  incidents.  Besides  the  vast  amount  of  land 
that  was  held  by  the  Church,  estates  were  often 
fraudulently  conveyed  to  ecclesiastical  bodies,  to  be 
received  again  free  of  services  by  the  alienor  as 
tenant ;  and  thus  the  superior  lord,  and  the  king  as 
capital  lord,  were  cheated,  and  the  means  for  the 
defence  of  the  realm  were  diminished.  These  evils 
were  partially  checked  by  Henry  II.,  who  levied  scutage 
on  the  knights'  fees  held  by  the  clergy,  and  the  practice 
of  conveying  lands  in  mortmain  was  prohibited  by  one 
of  the  Provisions  of  Westminster  in  1259.  Edward's 
statute  gave  force  to  this  provision  by  rendering  it 
lawful,  in  case  the  immediate  lord  neglected  to  avail 
himself  of  the  forfeiture,  for  the  next  chief  lord  to 
do  so.  Moreover,  the  king  still  further  showed  his 
discontent  at  the  attitude  of  the  clergy  by  demanding 
an  aid  from  them.  In  spite  of  these  rebuffs,  Peckham 
pursued  his  policy  of  attempting  to  enlarge  the  sphere 
of  spiritual  jurisdiction  at  the  cost  of  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Crown,  and  proposals  were  made  in  a  council 
which  he  held  at  Lambeth  in  i  2  8  i  to  remove  suits  con- 
cerning patronage  and  the  goods  of  the  clergy  from 
the  royal  to  the  ecclesiastical  courts.  Here,  however, 
the    king    interfered,    and    peremptorily   forbade    the 


The  Church  and  the  Nation,  167 

council  to  mcdcllo  in  matters  affecting  tlie  Crown. 
I'eckham  was  forced  to  give  way,  and  shortly  after- 
wards sent  Edward  a  letter  asserting  in  the  strongest 
terms  the  liberties  of  the  Church  as  agreeable  to  Scrip- 
ture and  the  history  of  England,  pointing  out  that  it 
was  his  duty  to  order  his  conduct  by  the  decrees  of 
the  Popes  and  the  rules  of  tlio  Church,  referring 
the  oppressions  under  which,  he  said,  the  clergy  were 
suffering  to  the  policy  of  Henry  I.  and  Henry  II., 
and  reminding  the  king  of  the  martyrdom  of  St. 
Thomas  of  Canterbury  for  the  Church's  sake. 

When  Edward  invaded  Wales  in  1282,  Peckham, 
moved  with  a  desire  for  peace  and  with  compassion 
Conquest  of  ^^^  ^he  Wclsh,  endcavoured  to  persuade 
Wales.  1282.  Llewelyn  to  submit  to  the  English  king, 
and,  contrary  to  Edward's  will,  went  alone  to  Llewelyn's 
fortress  of  Abcr,  and  tried  to  arrange  terms.  When 
his  efforts  proved  in  vain,  he  wrote  an  angry  and 
irritating  letter  to  the  Welsh  prince.  Nevertheless 
he  exerted  himself  on  behalf  of  the  Welsh  clergy, 
prayed  Edward  to  allow  the  clerks  in  Snowdon  to 
leave  the  country  with  their  goods,  wrote  indignantly 
to  Burncll  to  complain  that  some  clerks  had  been 
hanged  at  Khuddlan,  "  to  the  reproach  of  the  clergy 
and  the  contempt  of  the  Church,"  and  exhorted  the 
king  to  restore  the  churches  that  had  been  destroyed 
in  the  war.  The  backward  and  disorderly  condition 
of  the  Welsh  Cliurch  caused  him  much  concern,  and 
he  urged  the  bishops  of  Bangor  and  St.  Asaph's  to  put 
a  stop  to  the  concubinage  or  marriage  of  the  clergy, 
their  unseemly  dress,  and  their  neglect  of  their  duties, 
to  insist  on  the  observance  of  the  decrees  of  Otho  and 


1 68    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  A  ges. 

Ottoboni,  and  to  do  all  in  tlieir  power  to  overcome 
the  angry  feelings  of  their  flocks  towards  the  English, 
so  that  the  very  word  "  foreignry  "  might  no  more  be 
used  among  them.  Moreover,  he  was  anxious  to  see  the 
Welsh  become  civilized,  and  wrote  to  Edward  advising 
him  to  encourage  them  to  settle  in  towns  and  follow  in- 
dustries, and,  as  there  were  no  means  of  education  in 
Wales,  to  make  the  Welsh  boys  come  to  England  and 
be  taught  there,  instead  of  entering  the  household  of  a 
native  prince,  where  they  learnt  nothing  but  robbery. 
Indeed,  it  would  have  been  well  for  Wales  had  Peck- 
ham's  wishes  on  these  and  other  matters  been  cai'ried 
out.  The  war  taxed  the  king's  resources  severely, 
and,  towards  the  end  of  it,  Edward  ordered  the  seizure 
of  the  money  that,  in  accordance  with  a  decree  of 
the  Council  of  Lyons,  had  been  collected  for  a 
crusade,  and  stored  in  various  great  churches  in  Eng- 
land. This  brought  an  indignant  letter  from  Pope 
Martin  IV.  Before  its  arrival,  however,  the  king 
had  promised  that  the  money  should  be  refunded. 
Not  content  with  a  promise,  the  archbishop  went  off 
to  meet  Edward  at  Actou  Burnell,  and  prevailed  on 
him  to  make  immediate  restitution. 

Undismayed  by  his  previous  failures,  Peckham,  in 
1285,  made  another  attempt  to  secure  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  Church  in  matters  of  jurisdiction ;  and 
a  series  of  articles  was  drawn  up  by  the  bishops  of 
his  province  in  convocation,  and  presented  to  the 
king.  The  most  important  of  these  urged  that  a 
check  should  be  put  on  the  issue  of  prohibitions  from 
the  king's  court  staying  proceedings  in  ecclesiastical 
courts.    The  articles  were  answered  by  the  chancellor  ; 


The  Church  and  the  Nation.  169 

some  concessions  were  made  wliich  failed  to  satisfy 
the  bishops,  and  a  reply  was  sent  criticizing  the  chan- 
cellor's answers.  Edward  was  determined  to  settle 
the  relations  of  the  Church  and  the  Crown  in  these 
matters.  He  had,  perhaps  before  receiving  the 
articles,  caused  an  inquisition  to  be  made  into  suits 
brought  by  the  clergy  against  laymen,  had  impri- 
soned   all   the   judges    and   officers   of  the 

Limits  of  spiri-  ,       .         .      ,  ,  ,  •    l    -\       c 

tuai  jiirisdjc-  ccclesiastical  courts  who  were  convicted  ot 
having  fined  laymen  too  heavily,  and  had 
declared  that  these  courts  could  not  claim  as  of  right 
the  cognizance  of  any  save  matrimonial  and  testamen- 
tary causes.  This  violent  curtailment  of  the  rights  of 
the  Church  was  maintained  during  the  dispute  with 
the  prelates.  It  was  modified  shortly  afterwards  by 
a  writ,  addressed  to  the  bishops  by  the  king  in  par- 
liament, and  called  "  Circumspecte  agatis."  By  this 
writ,  which  had  the  force  of  a  statute,  ecclesiastical 
jui'isdiction  was  defined  as  extending  to  cases  of  deadly 
sin  which  were  visited  by  penance  or  fine,  and  offences 
as  regards  things  spiritual,  such  as  neglect  of  churches, 
to  suits  about  tithes  and  offerings,  assaults  on  clerks, 
defamation,  and  perjury  which  did  not  involve  a  ques- 
tion of  money.  This  writ,  then,  ascertained  the  limits 
between  the  areas  proper  to  the  secular  and  the  eccle- 
siastical courts,  settled  the  relations  between  Church 
and  State  in  England  as  far  as  jurisdiction  was  con- 
cerned, and  declared  the  triumph  of  the  principles  which 
Henry  II.  had  laid  down  in  the  Constitutions  of  Cla- 
rendon. The  punishments  inflicted  by  spiritual  judges 
for  the  correction  of  the  soul  put  a  salutary  check  on 
violence  and  debauchery  ;   and  if  sometimes  the  clergy 


I/O    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

used  their  spiritual  power  to  defend  their  temporal 
rights,  they  executed  justice  on  offenders  against  mora- 
lity without  respect  of  persons.  Peckham  gave  a 
signal  instance  of  this  by  condemning  Sir  Osbert  Gif- 
fard,  who  had  carried  off  two  nuns  from  "Wilton,  to 
nine  public  floggings,  to  fasting,  and  to  put  off  the 
dress  and  accoutrements  of  a  knight  and  a  gentle- 
man until  he  had  made  a  three  years'  pilgrimage  to 
the  Holy  Land.  And  as  an  ecclesiastical  judge  had  a 
right  to  a  writ  committing  any  excommunicated  person 
to  prison  until  satisfaction  was  given  to  the  Church, 
an  offender  was  forced  to  submit  to  the  penance  im- 
posed on  him. 

Although  the  expulsion  of  the  Jews  is  chiefly  a  matter 
of  economic  and  constitutional  importance,  it  has  also 
Expulsion  of  ^'^  ecclesiastical  bearing.  In  spite  of  Ed- 
the  Jews,  1290.  -^^rd's  poUcy  in  Church  matters,  he  was  a 
religious  man.  When  he  was  in  trouble  or  danger 
he  made  vows  which  he  always  performed :  he  often 
passed  Lent  to  some  extent  in  retirement,  and  he 
seems  to  have  been  pleased  to  attend  religious  cere- 
monies. Apart,  therefore,  from  worldly  reasons,  he 
must  have  felt — for  such  was  the  general  feeling 
of  the  day — that  the  protection  afforded  to  the  Jews 
by  the  Crown  and  the  profit  they  brought  to  the 
Exchequer  were  alike  ungodly.  Besides,  as  a  cru- 
sader he  was  bound  to  hate  the  enemies  of  the 
cross.  The  Jews  were  wealthy,  and  did  no  small 
harm  by  their  usurious  practices.  Although  Edward 
forbade  them  to  carry  on  usury,  the  law  does  not  seem 
to  have  been  enforced ;  and  the  rich,  and  among  them 
even  the  excellent  Queen  Eleanor,  profited  by  their 


The  Church  AND  THE  Nation.  171 

extortions.  While  the  king  treated  them  with  much 
severity,  ho  seems  to  have  been  anxious  for  their  con- 
version, though  the  means  adopted  to  bring  this  about 
were  not  always  judicious.  They  were  compelled  to 
attend  and  listen  diligently  to  sermons  preached  against 
their  faith  ;  the  Converts'  House  in  London  was  re- 
endowed,  and  Peckham  was  careful  to  prevent  them 
from  building  any  new  synagogues  in  the  city.  Ed- 
ward, who,  soon  after  he  had  taken  a  second  crusading 
vow  in  1287,  had  ordered  the  Jews  to  leave  his  con- 
tinental dominions,  at  last,  in  1 290,  greatly  to  the 
delight  of  all  classes,  expelled  them  from  England. 
Both  clergy  and  laity  testified  their  approval  of  the 
measure  by  making  him  a  grant. 

During  the  early  part  of  Edward's  reign,  the  clergy 
had  no  reason  to  complain  of  excessive  taxation.  Some 
Clerical  taxa-  discouteut  was,  indeed,  felt  at  the  new  and 
tion.  more  stringent  valuation  of  clerical  property 

which  was  made  after  Nicolas  IV.  had,  in  1288,  granted 
the  king  a  tenth  for  six  years  for  the  purpose  of  a  new 
crusade.  This  valuation,  called  the  "  Taxation  of  Pope 
Nicolas,"  took  cognizance  of  both  the  temporalities  and 
the  spiritualities  of  the  clergy,  and  was  used  as  the 
basis  for  ecclesiastical  taxation  until  the  sixteenth 
century.  In  1294,  however,  Edward  was  in  great 
straits  for  money,  for  he  was  forced  into  a  war  with 
France.  Ilobert  Burnell  was  dead,  and  the  measures 
Edward  adopted  to  raise  money  probably  show  how  much 
he  lost  by  his  minister's  death.  Among  other  uncon- 
stitutional acts,  he  seized  the  money  and  treasure 
stored  in  the  cathedrals  and  abbeys.  He  called  an 
assembly  of  the  clergy  of  both  provinces  and  demanded 


172    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

a   grant.       The    clergy  had  no   head ;    for    Peckham 

died  in  1292,  and  Robert  Winchelsey,  who  had  been 

elected     as     his    successor,     was     still     at 

Archbishop  i   •   i  i         i       i 

Winciieisey,  Uomc,  whither  he  had  gone  lor  consecra- 
tion. They  failed  to  appreciate  the  urgency 
of  the  crisis,  and  offered  a  single  grant  of  two- 
tenths.  Edward  was  indignant,  and  declared  that 
they  should  give  him  one-half  of  their  revenues,  or 
he  would  outlaw  them.  The  dean  of  St.  Paul's,  who 
went  to  court  hoping  to  pacify  him,  was  so  frightened 
at  his  anger  that  he  fell  down  dead.  Finally,  Ed- 
ward sent  a  knight  to  the  assembled  clergy ;  his 
messenger  bluntly  stated  the  king's  demand,  and 
added,  "  Whoever  of  you  will  say  him  nay,  let  him 
stand  up  that  he  may  be  known."  They  tried  to 
make  conditions,  and  prayed  for  the  abrogation  of  the 
Statute  of  Mortmain.  To  this  the  king  would  not 
consent,  and  they  were  forced  to  yield  to  his  gi-ievous 
demand. 

Edward's  need  of  money  led  him  to  perfect  the 
organization  of  parliament  as  an  assembly  of  estates 
Parliamentary  Competent  to  spealv  and  act  for  the  nation. 
representation,  j^^  ^j^-g  asscmbly  the  estate  of  the  clergy 
was  to  have  its  place.  National  councils  of  the 
Church,  though  held  on  the  occasion  of  legatine  visits, 
consisted  only  of  bishops,  and  had  fallen  into  disuse ; 
and  the  clerical  grants  were  made  by  the  convocations 
of  the  two  provinces  separately.  Besides  these  pro- 
vincial convocations,  the  clergy  met  in  diocesan  synods, 
and  also  in  assemblies  of  archdeaconries  or  other  dis- 
tricts. The  diocesan  synods,  the  cathedral  chapters, 
and    sometimes  the  sm.aller   clerical  assemblies,   were 


The  Church  and  the  Nation.  173 

consulted  as  to  proposed  grants,  and  acted  indepen- 
dently of  each  other.  In  the  last  reign,  for  example, 
the  rectors  of  Berkshire  drew  up  a  remonstrance 
against  a  grant  to  help  the  Pope  in  his  war  with 
the  Emperor.  Inconvenient  as  it  was,  the  practice 
of  seeking  the  assent  of  local  synods  to  taxation  was 
necessary  so  long  as  the  whole  body  of  the  beneficed 
clergy  was  not  systematically  represented  in  convo- 
cation. The  principle  of  clerical  representation  had 
gained  ground  during  the  reign  of  Henry  III.,  and 
in  1283  Peckham  confirmed  it  by  fixing  the  manner 
in  which  it  was  to  be  carried  out.  Two  proctors  were 
to  be  chosen  by  the  clergy  of  each  diocese  of  the 
southern  province,  and  one  for  each  cathedral  and 
collegiate  chapter.  In  the  northern  province  the 
custom  of  choosing  two  proctors  for  each  archdeaconry 
appears  to  have  obtained  somewhat  earlier.  Edward, 
when  settling  the  representation  of  the  clergy  in  Parlia- 
ment, adopted  Pcckhara's  system,  and  in  summoning 
the  bishops  to  the  parliament  of  1295,  which  has 
served  as  a  model  for  all  future  parliaments,  caused  a 
clause,  called  the  '^  prccmunicntes"  clause,  to  be  inserted 
in  the  writs,  directing  each  bishop  to  order  the  elec- 
tion of  two  proctors  for  the  clergy  of  his  diocese 
and  one  for  his  cathedral  chapter,  who  should  attend 
parliament  with  full  power  to  "  discuss,  ordain,  and 
act."  Thus  the  clergy  became  one  of  the  parliamentary 
estates,  and,  like  the  other  estates,  made  their  grants 
independently,  and  possibly  deliberated  apart.  As, 
however,  their  tendency  was  at  this  time  towards  the 
assertion  of  a  separate  position  in  the  State,  they  did 
not  value  this  change,  and,  as  we  shall  see,  soon  sue- 


174    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

ceeded  iu   establisliing   the   custom   of  making   their 
grants  in  their  own  convocations. 

The  submission  of  John  to  Innocent  III.  had  estab- 
lished, an  accord  between  the  Crown  and  the  papacy 
that  had  in  the  last  reign  been  fraught  with 
the  Crown  and  evil  to  the  Church.      It   came  to   an   end 
apacy.      -j^ggg^^gQ  Edward,  who  was  determined  that 
the  Church  should  be  national  in  the   fullest    sense, 
and  should  take  its  place  in  the  national  system  with 
clearly  defined  rights  and  with  a  liability  to  public 
burdens,    found   his   plans    opposed    by    a    Pope   who 
would  recognize  no  limit  to  his  authority,  or  to  the 
immunities  of  the  clergy.     This  Pope  was   Boniface 
VIII.     Forgetful  alike  of  the  spirit  of  resistance  to 
papal  interference  tbat  had  lately  been  exhibited  in 
England,  of  the  increase  of  independent  thought  that 
had  arisen  from  the  influence  of  the  universities,  and 
of  the   effect   of  the   doctrines   of    the   civil   lawyers 
in  magnifying  the  authority  of  the  king,  and  equally 
forgetful  of  the  rapid  advance   of  the  power  of  the 
French   monarchy,   Boniface  attempted  to    usurp   the 
rights  of  the  Crown  in  both  countries.      In  February 
I  296  he  published  the  bull  "  Clercis  laicos,"  forbidding, 
on  pain  of  excommunication,  the  clergy  to  grant,  or 
the  secular  power  to  take,  any  taxes  from  the  revenues 
of  churches  or  the  goods  of  clerks.      In  the  October 
parliament  the  laity  miade  their  grants  ;  but  the  clergy, 
after  a  debate  led  by  Winchelsey,  which  lasted  several 
days,  informed  the  king  that  they  could    grant   him 
nothiug.      Edward  would  not  accept  this  answer,  and 
ordered  Winchelsey  to  let  him  know  their  final  de- 
termination the  following   January.      The   archbishop 


The  Church  AND  THE  Nation.  175 

accordingly  held  a  convocation  at  St.  Paul's  on  St, 
Hilary's  Day,  to  decide  whether  there  was  any  middle 
way  between  disobeying  the  Pope  and  disobeying  the 
king.  Hugh  Despenser  and  a  clerk,  who  attended  as 
the  king's  proctors,  set  forth  the  dangers  of  foreign 
invasion  that  threatened  the  kingdom.  By  way  of 
reply,  Winchelsey  caused  the  Pope's  bull  to  be  read, 
Despenser  then  plainly  told  the  clergy  that  unless 
they  granted  the  sum  needed  for  the  defence  of  the 
country  the  king  and  the  lords  would  treat  their 
revenues  as  might  seem  good  to  them.  They  perse- 
vered in  their  refusal ;  and  on  the  1 2  th  of  February  the 
king,  who  was  in  urgent  need  of  supplies  for  the  war 
against  France,  outlawed  the  whole  of  the  clergy  of 
the  southern  province,  took  their  lay  fees  into  his 
own  hand,  and  allowed  any  one  who  would  to  seize 
their  horses.  Meanwhile  Winchelsey  excommunicated 
all  who  should  contravene  the  papal  decree.  The 
clergy  of  the  northern  province,  however,  submitted, 
aud  received  letters  of  protection.  Edward's  difficul- 
ties were  increased  by  the  refusal  of  his  lords,  led 
by  the  Constable  and  Marshal,  the  Earls  Bohun  and 
Bigod,  to  make  an  expedition  to  Flanders  whilst  he 
went  to  the  army  in  Gascony.  Winchelsey,  though 
not  wavei'ing  himself,  was  unwilling  to  expose  any 
of  his  clergy  to  further  danger,  if  they  could  find  a 
way  of  escape,  and  held  another  convocation,  in  which 
he  bade  each  "  save  his  own  soul."  ^lany  of  them 
accordingly  compounded  with  the  commissioners  whom 
the  king  had  appointed  for  that  purpose. 

In  spite  of  the  threatening  attitude  of  the  malcon- 
teut  lords,  Edward  could  not  refuse  to  fulfil  his  engage- 


1/6    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

ments  to  his  allies.  He  raised  supplies  and  a  force  by- 
means  which,  though  unconstitutional,  were  justified 
Wincheiseyand  by  neccssity,  was  reconciled  to  the  arch- 
tue  Charters,  bisl^op,  and  took  a  solcmn  leave  of  his  people 
from  a  platform  in  front  of  Westminster  Hall,  telling 
them  that  he  knew  that  he  had  not  reigned  as  well 
as  he  ought,  but  that  all  the  money  that  had  been 
taken  from  them  had  been  spent  in  their  defence,  and 
requesting  them,  if  he  did  not  return  from  Flanders, 
to  crown  his  son  Edward.  Winchelsey  wept  at  the 
king's  words,  and  all  the  people  shouted  assent. 
Nevertheless,  the  barons  remained  rebellious,  de- 
manded that  the  king  should  confirm  the  Great 
Charter  and  the  Forest  Charter,  and  presented  a 
petition  of  grievances.  Nor  was  the  ecclesiastical 
matter  settled,  though  the  clergy  offered  to  ask  the 
Pope's  leave  to  make  a  grant.  Before  Edward  left  he 
taxed  the  temporalities  of  the  clergy,  for  he  evidently 
suspected  them  of  acting  with  the  malcontents.  Soon 
after  he  had  set  sail,  the  barons  came  up  armed  to  a 
council  at  London,  which  was  attended  by  the  bishops, 
though  not  by  the  inferior  clergy.  Winchelsey  seems 
to  have  presided  at  this  council ;  and  apparently  by  his 
advice  the  young  Edward,  whom  his  father  had  left  as 
regent,  was  required  to  confirm  the  charters  with  cer- 
tain additions.  He  assented,  and  sent  the  charters  to 
his  father,  who  confirmed  them  along  with  the  new 
articles.  These  articles  may  be  said  to  have  declared 
it  illegal  for  the  Crown  to  levy  any  taxes  or  imposts, 
save  those  anciently  pertaining  to  it,  without  the  con- 
sent of  parliament. 

In  November  the  ecclesiastical  dispute  was  brought 


The  Church  and  the  Nation.  177 

to  an  end.  Early  in  the  year  Boniface,  to  satisfy 
Philip  of  France,  declared  that  he  did  not  forbid  the 
clergy  to  contribute  to  national  defence  or  to  make 
voluntary  grants ;  and  Winchelsey  took  advantage  of 
a  Scottish  invasion  to  recommend  the  clergy  to  tax 
themselves.  The  dispute  had  been  independent  of 
the  rebellious  behaviour  of  the  Constable  and  Mar- 
shal, who  had  taken  advantage  of  it  to  put  pressure 
on  the  king.  Winchelsey's  conduct  with  regard  to  the 
proceedings  of  the  earls  seems  to  prove  that  he  had  an 
enlightened  desire  for  constitutional  freedom ;  and  the 
Church  in  his  person  again  appeared,  as  she  had 
appeared  so  often  before,  as  the  assertor  of  national 
rights.  Nor  did  the  Church  fail  to  gain  much  by 
the  issue  of  the  ecclesiastical  dispute.  The  victory 
lay  with  the  Crown ;  the  national  character  of  the 
Church  was  established,  and  it  was  saved  from  the 
danger  of  sinking  into  a  handmaid  of  Rome,  which 
would  probably  have  come  to  pass  if  the  papacy 
and  the  Crown  had  remained  at  one.  From  hence- 
forth the  Church  generally  found  the  State  ready  to 
protect  her  liberties  from  papal  invasion. 

After  Edward's  return   fresh   demands  were   made 
upon  him,  and  a  long  struggle  ensued  between  him 

and  the  parliament  on  the  subject   of  dis- 
poiicyofop-      afforestation,  or  the  reduction  of  the  royal 

forests  to  their  ancient  boundaries.  Win- 
chelsey evidently  continued  in  opposition,  partly  with 
the  view  of  increasing  the  papal  authority  by  embar- 
rassing the  king.  His  desire  to  uphold  the  Pope's 
authority  led  him  at  last  to  commit  the  fatal  error 
of  opposing  a  cause  of  national  concern.  Edward's 
c.  II.  M 


178    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

claim  to  the  crown  of  Scotland  was  alternately  ad- 
mitted and  rejected  by  tlie  Scottish  lords,  who  sub- 
mitted to  him  when  he  overawed  them  by  appearing 
in  Scotland  at  the  head  of  his  forces,  and  rebelled 
when  he  returned  to  England.  Finding  themselves 
unable  to  resist  him,  they  appealed  to  Boniface  to  help 
them.  Accordingly,  in  1299,  Boniface  published  a 
bull  asserting  that  the  kingdom  of  Scotland  was  a  fief 
of  the  Holy  See,  and  ordering  Edward  to  submit  his 
claim  to  the  decision  of  Kome.  On  receiving  this  bull 
Winchelsey  journeyed  to  Galloway,  where  Edward  then 
was,  and  in  August  130O  appeared  before  him,  in 
company  with  a  papal  envoy,  presented  the  bull,  and 
added,  it  is  said,  an  exhortation  of  his  own  on  the  duty 
of  obedience  and  the  happiness  of  those  who  were  as 
the  people  of  Jerusalem  and  as  Mount  Zion.  "  By 
God's  blood  !  "  shouted  the  indignant  king,  "  I  will  not 
hold  my  peace  for  Zion,  nor  keep  silence  for  Jerusalem, 
but  will  defend  my  right  that  is  known  to  all  the 
world  with  all  my  might."  The  archbishop  was  bid- 
den to  inform  the  Pope  that  the  king  would  send  him 
an  answer  after  he  had  consulted  with  his  lords,  for 
"  it  was  the  custom  of  England  that  in  matters  touch- 
ing: the  state  of  the  realm  all  those  who  were  affected 
by  the  business  should  be  consulted." 

Acting  on  this  principle,  Edward,  early  the  next 
year,  laid  the  bull  before  his  barons  at  a  parliament 
held  at  Lincoln,  and  bade  them  proceed  in  the 
matter.  Accordingly  they  wrote  to  the  Pope,  on 
behalf  of  themselves  and  the  whole  community  of 
the  realm,  briefly  informing  him  that  the  feudal 
superiority    over    Scotland    belonged    to  the  English 


The  Church  axd  the  Nation.  179 

Crown ;  that  the  kings  of  Eng-laud  ought  not  to 
answer  before  any  judge,  ecclesiastical  or  secular, 
concerning  their  rights  in  that  kingdom  ;  that  they 
had  determined  that  their  king  should  not  answer 
concerning  them  or  any  other  of  his  temporal  rights 
before  the  Pope,  or  accept  his  judgment,  or  send  proc- 
tors to  his  court;  and  that,  even  if  he  were  willing 
to  obey  the  bull,  they  would  not  allow  hira  to  do  so. 
This  letter  was  signed  by  the  lay  baronage  only,  not  by 
the  bishops.  At  this  parliament  the  barons  requested 
the  king  to  dismiss  his  treasurer,  "Walter  Langton, 
bishop  of  Lichfield,  and  presented  certain  petitions 
for  reform.  Most  of  these  petitions  were  granted,  and 
among  them  the  demand  for  disafforestation  ;  the  last, 
that  the  goods  of  the  clergy  should  not  bo  taxed  against 
the  will  of  the  Pope,  evidently  bears  witness  to  the 
terms  of  the  alliance  between  Winchelsey  and  the 
barons.  This  article  was  rejected  by  the  king,  who 
thus  further  se^Darated  the  baronial  from  the  clerical 
interest.  Nor  did  he  dismiss  Langton,  who  was  soon 
afterwards  suspended  from  his  bishopric  on  charges 
of  adultery,  simony,  homicide,  and  dealings  with  the 
devil ;  he  was  acquitted  by  the  Pope,  and  probably 
owed  his  suspension  to  Winchelsey's  enmity. 

The  overthrow  of  Boniface  by  the  French  king, 
Philip  lY.,  involved  the  failure  of  his  attempt  to 
Clement  v.,  establish  the  dominion  of  the  papacy  over 
1305-1316.  national  churches.  Clement  V.,  the  next 
Pope  but  one,  was  a  Gascon,  and  settled  the  papal 
court  at  Avignon,  where  it  remained  for  seventy  years, 
a  period  called  the  "  Babylonish  captivity."  During 
this  period  the  papal  court  became  a  French  institu- 


1 80    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  A  ges. 

tion.  This  caused  Englislimen  to  be  very  jealous  of 
the  Pope's  interference ;  and  when  the  king  was  at 
one  with  his  people  the  Popes  were  not  allowed  to 
exercise  much  authority  here,  and  the  national  char- 
acter of  the  Church  was  effectually  defended.  Clement 
was  anxious  to  oblige  Edward.  As  a  Gascon  noble,  and 
as  archbishop  of  Bordeaux,  he  had  been  his  subject,  and 
as  Pope  he  was  not  willing  to  become  the  tool  of  the 
French  king.  Edward  took  advantage  of  his  goodwill. 
He  considered  that  his  people  had  dealt  hardly  with 
him,  and  had  forced  him  to  give  up  his  just  rights,  and 
he  obtained  a  bull  from  the  Pope  absolving  him  from 
the  oaths  which  he  had  taken.  In  doing  so  he  simply 
acted  in  accordance  with  the  ideas  of  his  time,  and  this 
is  the  one  excuse  that  can  be  made  for  him.  Nor  was 
he  content  with  thus  providing  for  the  repair  of  his  royal 
dignity ;  he  took  vengeance  on  the  man  who  had  done 
as  much  as  any  one  to  lessen  it.  In  1305,  when  the 
old  baronial  opposition  had  wholly  ceased,  he  accused 
wincheisey  Wiuchelscy  of  having  engaged  in  treason 
suspended.  j^-^  1301,  aud  added  other  causes  of  com- 
jDlaint  against  him.  Edward  submitted  the  charges 
against  him  to  the  Pope,  who  suspended  him,  and 
summoned  him  to  Rome.  He  did  not  return  to 
England  until  after  the  king's  death.  Although  the 
Pope  took  the  administration  of  the  see  of  Canter- 
bury into  his  own  hands,  the  king,  of  course,  seized 
the  temporalities.  Clement  complained  of  this ;  and 
Edward,  in  order  to  ensure  the  continuance  of  his 
triumph  over  the  archbishop,  allowed  the  Pope's  agents 
to  receive  the  profits  arising  from  them. 

While,  however,  the  king  and  the  Pope  were  thus 


The  Church  and  the  Nation.  i8i 

obliging  one  another,  the  papacy  had  nevertheless  lost 
ground  in  England.  For  full  eighty  years  its  power 
here  had  depended  mainly  on  its  alliance  with  the 
Crown ;  and  now  that  Boniface  had  shown  that  this 
power,  if  unchecked,  would  destroy  the  rights  of  the 
Crown  over  the  Church,  the  king  was  prepared  to  join 
with  his  people  in  resisting  it.  Winch elsey's  absence 
Remonstrance  f^fforded  an  opportunity.  In  a  parliament 
Snsu"  ^lel^i  ^t  Carlisle  in  1 307,  statutes  were  pub- 
exactioiis,  1307.  ligjied  prohibiting  the  taxation  of  English 
monasteries  by  their  foreign  superiors  ;  and  while  much 
debate  was  being  held  on  the  oppression  of  Rome,  a 
letter  was  found,  written  under  an  assumed  name  and 
addressed  to  the  "  Noble  Church  of  England,  now  in 
mire  and  servitude,"  which  set  forth  in  terms  of  bitter 
sarcasm  tlie  evils  she  suffered  from  her  "  pretended 
father "  the  Pope.  This  letter  was  read  before  the 
king,  a  cardinal-legate  who  was  visiting  England  to 
arrange  the  marriage  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and 
the  whole  parliament.  A  document  was  then  drawn 
up  enumerating  the  encroachments  of  Pome  which 
were  carried  out  by  the  papal  agents  and  collectors. 
These  were  the  appointment  of  foreigners  to  English 
benefices  by  provisions ;  the  application  of  monastic 
revenues  to  the  maintenance  of  cardinals ;  the  reser- 
vation of  first-fruits,  then  a  novel  claim ;  the  increase 
in  the  amount  demanded  as  Peter's  pence,  and  other 
oppressions.  The  cause  of  complaint  with  reference  to 
Peter's  pence  arose  from  an  attempt  of  William  de 
Testa,  the  Pope's  collector,  to  demand  a  penny  for  each 
household,  instead  of  the  fixed  sum  hitherto  paid.  The 
articles  were  accepted  and  forwarded  to  the  Pope,  and 


1 82    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

Testa  was  examined  before  parliament,  and  ordered  to 
abstain  from  furtlier  exactions.  Edward,  however,  was 
hampered  by  his  need  of  Clement's  co-operation.  After 
the  parliament  was  dissolved,  he  was  persuaded  by  the 
cardinal  to  allow  Testa  to  proceed  with  the  collection 
of  first-fruits  ;  and  when  the  papal  agents  appeared 
before  the  council  to  answer  the  charges  made  as^ainst 
them  in  parliament,  they  took  up  an  aggressive  posi- 
tion, and  complained  that  they  had  been  hindered  in 
the  execution  of  their  duty.  Before  these  matters 
were  brought  to  a  conclusion  the  king  died. 

Immediately  on  his  accession,  Edward  II.  recalled 
Winchelsey,  and  imprisoned  his  father's  minister, 
Edward  II.  Walter  Langton.  The  resistance  to  papal 
1307-1327.  exactions  was  renewed  in  a  parliament  held 
at  Stamford  in  1309,  where  the  king  gave  his  consent 
to  a  petition  presented  by  the  lay  estates  for  the 
reformation  of  civil  abuses.  At  this  parliament  the 
baroDS  sent  a  letter  of  complaint  to  the  Pope  of  much 
the  same  character  as  the  document  drawn  up  at 
Carlisle.  Clement,  by  way  of  answer,  complained 
that  his  collectors  were  impeded,  that  his  briefs  and 
citations  were  not  respected,  that  laymen  exercised 
jurisdiction  over  spiritual  persons,  and  that  the  tri- 
bute granted  by  John  to  the  See  of  Rome  had  not 
been  paid  for  some  fifteen  years.  Here  the  matter 
seems  to  have  ended,  and  the  chief  features  of  our 
Church  history  during  this  wretched  reign  are  closely 
connected  with  the  quarrels  and  general  disorganization 
that  prevailed  in  the  kingdom.  For  a  time  Win- 
chelsey acted  with  the  king,  but  Edward's  carelessness 
and  evil  government  drove  him  into  opposition.    While 


The  Church  and  the  Nation.  183 

tlie  country  at  large  liad  mucli  to  complain  of,  tlie 
Church  had  her  special  grievances.  In  1309  the 
archbishop  held  a  provincial  council  to  decide  on  pro- 
ceedings against  the  Templars  ;  for  the  king  had 
promised  the  Pope  that  the  English  Church  should 
take  part  in  attacking  the  Order.  At  this  council 
gravamina  were  adopted  which  show  that  constant 
encroachments  were  made  on  the  sphere  of  ecclesi- 
astical jurisdiction.  The  next  year  the  archbishop 
and  six  of  his  suffragans  were  chosen  as  "  Ordainers," 
the  name  given  to  a  commission  appointed  by  a 
council  of  magnates,  lay  and  spiritual,  to  carry  out  a 
system  of  reform.  Winchelsey  and  the  bishops  of 
his  province  pronounced  excommunication  against  all 
who  hindered  the  ordinances,  or  revealed  the  secrets 
of  the  Ordainers.  First  among  the  objects  which  the 
Ordainers  swore  to  promote  was  the  increase  of  the 
honour  and  welfare  of  the  Church  ;  and  the  interference 
with  the  spiritual  courts  which  had  been  complained 
of  the  year  before  was  forbidden  by  one  of  their 
ordinances.  As  Winchelsey  thus  joined  the  party 
of  opposition,  the  king,  in  1 3 1 2,  released  Langton, 
and  appointed  him  treasurer ;  for,  in  spite  of  all  that 
had  passed,  the  old  servant  of  Edward  I.  upheld  the 
cause  of  the  Crown.  The  earl  of  Lancaster,  the  head 
of  the  opposition,  seems  to  have  been  regarded  as 
favourable  to  the  claims  of  the  Church ;  for  in  131 6, 
when  he  had  virtually  obtained  the  complete  control 
of  the  kingdom,  the  estate  of  the  clergy  presented,  in 
a  parliament  held  at  Lincoln,  a  series  of  complaints 
called  "  Articuli  Cleri,"  The  roval  assent  was  efiven, 
and    the    "  articles "   became    a    statute.       By   these 


1 84     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  A  ges. 

articles  the  rules  laid  down  iu  the  writ  "  Circum- 
specte  agatis"  were  re-enacted,  and  various  rights  and 
liberties,  touching  matters  of  jurisdiction  and  sanc- 
tuary, were  acknowledged.  Among  these,  it  was 
allowed  that  it  pertained  to  a  spiritual,  and  not  to 
any  temporal  judge,  to  examine  into  the  fitness  of  a 
parson  presented  to  a  benefice,  and  that  elections  to 
dignities  should  be  free  from  lay  interference. 

Throughout  the  whole  reign  elections  by  capitular 

bodies  were  constantly  set  at  nought.      Sometimes  the 

Pope  appointed  to  a  bishopric  on  the  king's 

pointed  by       rccommendation,  and  sometimes  in  spite  of 

provision.  ...  ^ 

his  Wishes.  From  the  time  of  Stephen  Lang- 
ton  onwards,  the  Popes  had  so  often  interfered  with  the 
appointment  to  the  primacy,  either,  as  in  the  case  of 
Peckham,  acting  in  opposition  to  the  Crown,  or,  as  in 
that  of  Winchelsey,  in  unison  with  it,  that  their  claim 
was  now  tacitly  admitted.  As  regards  suffragan  bishop- 
rics, their  interference  was  often  exercised  owiner  either 
to  the  death  of  a  bishop  at  Home,  or  to  appeals.  Be- 
sides, it  seems  to  have  been  laid  down  in  this  reign  that 
the  right  of  appointing  to  a  see  vacant  by  translation 
belonged  to  the  Pope,  who  alone  had  the  power  to 
sanction  the  divorce  between  a  bishop  and  his  diocese. 
The  embarrassments  of  Edward  II.  encouraged  a  still 
greater  encroachment  on  the  rights  of  the  Church  and 
of  the  Crown ;  and  Clement  simply  appointed  bishops 
by  reservation  and  provision,  declaring  that  he  had 
during  the  lifetime  of  the  last  bishop  reserved  the 
appointment  for  himself,  and  that  as  a  vacancy  had 
occurred,  he  had  found  a  fit  man,  and  provided  him 
accordingly.     In  some  cases  the  bishop  thus  provided 


The  Church  and  the  Nation.  1S5 

li.id  been  nominated  by  the  Crown  and  elected  by  the 
chapter  ;  in  others  the  wishes  of  both  were  set  aside  out 
of  the  fulness  of  the  Pope's  power. 

The  bishops  of  this  reign  were  as  a  body,  though 
with  some  exceptions,  worldly  and  self-seeking.  On 
the  death  of  Winchelsey,  in  1 3  i  3,  the  monks  of  Christ 
Church  chose  a  new  archbishop  of  high  repute  for  learn- 
ing and  character.  At  the  king's  request,  Clement  set 
aside  their  election  and  appointed  Edward's  old  tutor, 
Walter  Reynolds,  bishop  of  Worcester,  the  son  of  a 
baker,  and  a  man  in  all  respects  unworthy  of  such  an 
office.  Before  he  came  to  the  throne  Edward  had  found 
him  useful  to  him,  and  when  he  became  king  he  made 
him  treasurer  and  chancellor.  During  the  troubles  of 
the  reign,  Reynolds  adhered  to  the  king  until  he  began 
to  suspect  that  it  was  no  longer  his  interest  to  do  so. 
An  election  made  by  the  chapter  of  Durham  was  set 
aside  by  John  XXII.,  who  provided  Lewis  Beaumont, 
an  ignorant  man,  and  lame  in  both  his  feet,  so  that  it 
was  said  in  England,  that  the  Pope  would  never  have 
appointed  him  if  ho  had  seen  him.  Beaumont,  however, 
was  a  connexion  of  Edward's  queen,  Isabella  ;  and  John, 
who  was  a  Provencal,  was  willing  to  do  anything  to 
oblige  the  French  court.  The  same  year  the  Pope 
disregarded  both  the  choice  of  the  chapter  of  Hereford 
and  the  earnest  request  of  the  king,  and  appointed 
Adam  Orlton  to  the  see.  Utterly  unscrupulous,  and 
at  once  bold  and  subtle,  Orlton  was  the  worst  of  all 
the  bad  bishops  of  his  time.  About  two  years  later, 
Edward  tried  to  obtain  the  appointment  of  Henry 
Burghersh,  the  nephew  of  Lord  Badlesmere,  who  was  at 
that  time   useful  to  him,  to  the  see  of  Winchester. 


1 86    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

Pope  John  reserved  the  see,  and  appointed  an  Italian. 
However,  in  1320,  the  Lincohi  chapter  elected  Burg- 
hersh  in  order  to  please  the  king ;  and  Badlesmere, 
who  was  then  at  Avignon,  is  said  to  have  spent  a  vast 
sum  of  the  king's  money  in  procuring  the  papal  assent, 
for  Burghersh  was  under  the  canonical  age. 

When  the  barons  formed  a  league  against  the  king's 
favourites,  the  Despensers,  in  i  3  2  i ,  they  were  joined  by 
Burghersh,  who  followed  his  kinsman  Bad- 
and  secura^     lesmcrc,  by  Orlton,  and  John  of  Drokensford, 
politics.  bishop  of  Bath.      The  victory  of  Borough- 

bridge  gave  the  king  supreme  power,  and  he  caused 
Orlton  to  be  arrested,  and  charged  with  treason  before 
the  peers.  Orlton  declared  that  his  metropolitan  was, 
under  the  Pope,  his  immediate  judge,  and  refused  to 
plead  without  the  consent  of  the  archbishop  and  his 
suffragans.  The  primate  and  his  suffragans  then  rose 
and  prayed  the  king  to  have  mercy  on  the  bishop. 
Edward  refused,  and  they  then  pleaded  the  privilege 
of  the  Church,  and  claimed  him  as  a  clerk.  He  was 
accordingly  delivered  over  to  the  custody  of  the  arch- 
bishop. Nevertheless  the  king  caused  a  jury  to  try 
him  in  his  absence,  and  obtained  a  verdict  against  him. 
But  the  archbishop  would  not  give  him  up.  Edward 
sent  to  Avignon  to  complain  of  the  conduct  of  the 
three  bishops  who  had  sided  with  the  barons  against 
him,  and  requested  the  Pope  to  deprive  them  of  their 
English  sees.  He  did  not  turn  his  victory  to  good 
account.  In  1325  two  of  the  bishops  who  had  ob- 
tained their  sees  from  the  Pope  against  the  king's  will, 
John  Stratford  of  Winchester  and  William  Ayermin  of 
Norwich,  while  on  an  embassy  to  France,  entered  into 


The  Church  and  the  Nation.  187 

a  plot  against  the  Despensers.  By  their  advice  the 
queen  was  sent  into  France,  and  tiiere  Mortimer  joined 
her.  The  king  in  vain  urged  her  to  return,  and  the 
bishops,  at  his  request,  sent  a  letter  to  the  same  effect. 
She  came  back  at  last  with  an  armed  force,  and  Orlton, 
Burghersh,  and  Ayermin  raised  money  for  her  from 
their  fellow -bishops.  When  she  came  to  Oxford, 
Orlton  expounded  the  reason  of  her  rebellion  to  the 
university  in  a  sermon,  taking  as  his  text  the  words, 
"Caput  meum  doleo"  (2  Kings  iv.  19).  Eeynolds 
and  some  of  the  bishops  remained  for  a  while  in 
London,  trying  to  quiet  matters.  AVhile  they  were 
there.  Bishop  Stapleton  of  Exeter,  who  had  been  one 
of  the  king's  ministers,  and  remained  faithful  to  him, 
was  slain  by  the  citizens.  Ilis  murder  caused  them  to 
flee,  and  Stratford,  and  at  last  Reynolds,  joined  the 
queen's  party.  The  king  was  now  a  prisoner,  and 
lleynolds,  who  owed  everything  to  his  favour,  Strat- 
ford, whom  he  had  forgiven  and  trusted  in  spite  of  his 
having  deceived  him,  and  Orlton,  his  avowed  enemy, 
took  active  part  in  his  deposition. 

Meanwhile  the  province  of  York  had  been  exposed 
to  the  ravages  of  the  Scots.  Edward  prevailed  on 
inie  Battle  of  John  XXII.  to  command  a  truce  and  send 
Myton,  1319.  Qygj.  legates  with  authority  to  excommuni- 
cate Bruce.  The  legates'  envoys  were  robbed  and  ill- 
treated,  and  the  sentence  was  accordingly  pronounced. 
It  had  no  effect  on  the  war,  and  in  i  3  i  8  the  Scots  broke 
into  Yorkshire.  They  made  a  savage  raid,  and  did 
much  damage  to  churches  and  ecclesiastical  property, 
llipon  paid  them  i^iooo  for  its  safety.  A  new  arch- 
bishop, William  Melton,  had  lately  been  consecrated. 


1 88     The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

He  had  served  the  king  and  his  father  well,  and  Edward, 
after  some  trouble,  had  obtained  the  Pope's  confirma- 
tion for  him.  He  was  made  one  of  the  wardens  of  the 
marches,  and  at  once  arrayed  his  tenants  for  military 
service.  There  was  little  help  to  be  obtained  from 
the  king,  and  when  the  Scots  came  down  the  next  year 
most  of  the  fighting  men  of  the  north  had  been  called 
away  to  Edward's  army  at  Berwick.  Melton,  however, 
raised  what  local  force  he  could,  and  led  a  largfe  and  un- 
disciplined  host  to  meet  the  Scottish  army  at  Myton. 
The  archbishop's  army  was  routed,  and  so  many  clerks 
were  slain  in  the  battle  that  it  was  called  the  "chapter  of 
Myton."  The  absence  of  any  united  and  vigorous  action 
for  the  defence  of  the  country  was  largely  due  to  the 
disloyalty  and  selfishness  of  Thomas,  earl  of  Lancas- 
ter. The  earl  was  powerful  in  Yorkshire,  and  after 
making  a  league  for  mutual  support  with  the  lords  of 
the  north,  he  summoned  a  meetinof  of  the 

The  Sberburn  '  P 

Parliament,      estatcs  at  Shcrbum,  near  Pomfret,  in  1^21. 
1321.  .  .  7  J 

To  this  northern  parliament  he  called  the 
archbishop  and  prelates  of  the  province,  and  Melton  and 
the  clergy  obeyed  his  summons,  evidently  with  the  hope 
of  making  peace.  Lancaster's  parliament  met  in  the 
parish  church,  and  after  the  schedule  of  grievances  and 
the  lords'  bond  of  association  had  been  read,  the  earl 
bade  the  prelates  consult  apart,  and  give  him  their 
answer ;  for  all  was  done  as  though  in  a  legal  and 
national  parliament.  The  clergy  debated  in  the  rectory, 
and  sent  a  reply  in  to  the  earl  that  was  wise  and  worthy 
of  their  profession.  Tliey  petitioned  for  a  cessation  of 
liostile  movements,  and  for  concord  in  the  next  parlia- 
ment, so  that,  by  God's  favour,  parliament  might  find 


The  Church  and  the  Nation.  189 

remedies  for  tlio  grievances  expressed  in  tlic  articles. 
In  other  words,  they  exhorted  the  earl  to  abandon  his 
isolated  position,  and  seek  the  good  of  the  country  by 
peaceful  and  constitutional  means.  Their  answer  was 
received  graciously,  but  their  advice  was  not  followed. 
I'ho  archbishop  took  no  pax't  in  the  disloyal  conduct  of 
tlic  majority  of  the  bishops;  ho  and  his  suffragan  of 
Carlisle,  and  two  bishops  of  the  southern  province, 
protested  against  the  deposition  of  Edward  II.,  and 
ho  abstained  from  attending  the  coronation  of  the 
young  king. 

During  the  reign  of  Edward   II.  the  clergy  showed 

their    unwillingness  to    attend   parliament,    and   their 

decided  preference  for  votinfif  their  grants 

Parliament  .  ^      .  ^^-,  ,.        '^  .    °     . 

andcouvuca-  m  convocatiou.  When,  for  example,  they 
were  summoned  to  the  parliament  in  which 
the  work  of  the  Ordainers  was  published  in  1 3 1 1 , 
they  sent  no  proctors.  Before  the  meeting  in  the 
autumn  the  king  wrote  to  the  archbishops,  calling  on 
them  to  urge  the  attendance  of  the  clergy.  Win- 
chelsey  objected  to  the  writ,  and  the  king  issued 
another,  promising  that  if  it  contained  any  cause  of 
offence  it  should  be  remedied.  Again,  in  13  14  Ed- 
ward ordered  the  archbishops  to  summon  the  convo- 
cations of  their  provinces  to  treat  about  an  aid. 
The  clergy,  however,  declared  that  this  was  an  in- 
fringement of  the  rights  of  the  Church,  and  departed 
without  further  discussion.  Before  the  next  parliament, 
besides  the  regular  writ  witli  the  "  praemunientes " 
clause,  he  sent  a  special  letter  to  the  archbishops, 
urging  them  to  press  tlie  attendance  of  the  clergy ; 
and  this  double  summons  was  thenceforth  sent  regu- 


190    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

larly  until  I  3 40.  Nevertheless  in  13  18  tlie  clerical 
estate  in  pariiament  refused  to  make  a  grant  without 
convocation.  When  the  matter  was  referred  to  the 
convocation  of  Canterbury,  the  answer  was  returned 
that  the  grant  must  depend  on  the  Pope's  consent, 
and  a  messenger  was  sent  to  Avignon  to  obtain  it. 
The  position  of  the  clerical  estate  in  Parliament  was 
peculiar,  for  it  is  certain  that  its  consent  was  not 
necessary  to  legislation.  At  the  same  time,  when, 
as  in  I  3  1 6,  a  petition  of  the  clergy  touching  spiri- 
tual matters  received  the  royal  assent,  it  was  with 
that  assent  accepted  as  a  statute.  In  convocation 
the  action  of  the  clergy  was  perfectly  free ;  they 
made  what  grant  they  would  without  lay  interference, 
though  they  had  no  means  of  appropriating  the  sup- 
plies they  voted.  While  they  withdrew  as  far  as 
possible  from  parliament,  they  did  not  do  so  alto- 
gether, and  in  critical  times  their  attendance  was 
specially  insisted  on,  in  order  that  the  consent  of  par- 
liament might  be  general.  Even  at  the  present  day 
they  are  summoned  to  every  parliament  by  the  "  prae- 
munientes  "  clause,  and  it  is  by  their  own  act,  by  their 
preference  for  taxing  themselves  in  their  own  assembly, 
that  they  have  lost  the  right  of  obeying  the  summons. 
Convocations  were  summoned  by  the  archbishops  for 
other  purposes  besides  taxation,  and  the  ordinary 
legislative  business  of  the  Church  was  carried  on  in 
them.  When  a  convocation  met  for  self-taxation,  it 
did  so  in  consequence  of  a  royal  request  for  money, 
though  it  was  summoned,  as  on  other  occasions,  by 
the  archbishop,  not  by  the  king.  As  the  king  made 
a  like  request  to  the  lay  estates  at  the  same  time,  it 


The  Church  AND  THE  Nation.  191 

naturally  came  to  pass  that  convocation  and  parliament 
met  about  the  same  date.  Nevertheless  it  -would  be 
easy  to  give  many  instances  which  show  that  meetings 
of  convocation  for  purposes  of  taxation  were  not  neces- 
sarily concurrent  with,  nor  in  any  way  dependent  upon, 
the  parliamentary  session,  as  they  became  at  a  later 
period. 


(      192      ) 


CHAPTER  IX. 
THE  PAPACY  AND  THE  PARLIAMENT. 

ECCLESIASTICAL  CHARACTER  OP  THE  REIGN  —  ARCHBISHOPS 
AND  THEIR  ECCLESIASTICAL  ADMINISTRATION— PROVISIONS 
— STATUTE  OF  PROVISORS  —  OP  PR^MUNIRE — REFUSAL  OP 
TRIBUTE  —  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  THE  CHURCH  AND  THE 
STATE  —  CAUSES  OF  DISCONTENT  AT  THE  CONDITION  OP 
THE  CHURCH — ATTACK  ON  CLERICAL  MINISTERS  AND  THE 
WEALTHY  CLERGY — CONCORDAT  WITH  THE  PAPACY — THE  GOOD 
PARLIAMENT — CONCLUSION. 

The  fifty  years  of  tlie  reign  of  Edward  III.  ai'e  of 
special  importance  in  the  history  of  our  Church ;  for 
Character  of  ^^^y  witnessed  the  restriction  of  papal 
the  period.  authority  by  parliament,  and  the  rise  of  a 
spu-it  of  discontent  at  evils  which  existed  in  the 
National  Church.  From  the  time  of  John's  submis- 
sion the  Popes  had  constantly  treated  England  as  a 
never-failing  treasury,  and  had  diverted  the  revenues 
of  the  Church  to  their  own  purposes.  The  breach 
between  the  papacy  and  the  Crown  in  the  reign  of 
Edward  I.  had  been  followed  by  the  expression  of  the 
national  sense  of  injury  in  the  parliament  of  Carlisle. 
The  war  with  France  caused  the  anti-papal  feeling  to 
grow  and  bring  forth  fruit.  It  was  intolerable  that 
the   wealth  of  the   country   should    go  to  enrich  its 


The  Papacy  ax d  the  Parliament.       193 

enemies,  and  tliat  French  Popes  should  exercise  juris- 
diction here  in  defiance  of  tlie  will  of  the  king  and 
to  the  subversion  of  the  common  law.  The  victories 
of  England  find  their  ecclesiastical  significance  in  the 
legislation  against  papal  oppression,  in  the  statutes  of 
Provisors  and  Praemunire.  Within  the  Church  several 
causes  combined  to  give  rise  to  an  anti-clerical  feeling. 
While  the  nation  suffered  severely  from  the  expenses 
of  the  war,  the  Church  was  rich,  and  might,  so  men 
thought,  well  be  forced  to  bear  a  larger  share  of  the 
general  burdens  than  the  clergy  were  willing  to  lay 
upon  themselves.  The  bishops  filled  all  the  chief 
administrative  oflSces,  and  enjoyed  their  revenues  in 
addition  to  the  wealth  of  their  sees.  The  inferior 
clergy  were  as  a  rule  careless  and  ignorant.  The 
Church,  though  it  jealously  watched  over  its  rights  of 
jurisdiction,  found  itself  powerless  to  enforce  needful  dis- 
cipline on  the  clergy,  while  the  abuses  of  the  ecclesias- 
tical courts  were  a  continual  source  of  irritation  to 
the  laity.  An  attempt  was  made  to  debar  the  prelates 
from  political  olEces,  and  an  attack  on  the  wealth  of 
the  Church  was  threatened.  Then  came  the  papal 
Schism,  and  new  ideas  were  openly  expressed  con- 
cerning the  papacy  itself,  the  position  and  rights  of 
the  clergy,  and  the  relations  between  Church  and 
State.  With  these  ideas  we  have  nothing  to  do  here. 
But  as  we  follow  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  the  reign 
we  shall  see  how  the  way  was  prepared  for  them  ;  how 
it  was  that  Wyclif,  a  strenuous  upholder  of  the  rights 
of  the  National  Church,  was  led  to  form  a  spiritual 
conception  of  the  Church  Universal,  to  declare  that  a 
Pope  who  was  not  Christ-like  was  Antichrist,  and  to 
C.  //.  >' 


194    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

teach  that  it  would  be  well  for  the  Church  to  strip 
herself  of  her  endowments  and  to  become  independent 
of  the  State ;  why  it  was  that  the  bulwarks  already 
raised  against  papal  interference  were  strengthened, 
and  why  for  a  season  there  were  from  time  to  time 
evidences  of  a  spirit  of  revolt  against  the  ecclesiastical 
system.  It  will  perhaps  be  convenient  to  divide  the 
Church  history  of  the  reign  into  two  unequal  parts  at 
the  return  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  the  meeting  of 
the  anti-clerical  parliament  in  1 371,  and  after  some 
notices  of  the  archbishops  and  their  ecclesiastical  ad- 
ministration down  to  the  consecration  of  Whittlesey  in 
1368,  to  take  a  sui-vey  of  the  relations,  first,  between 
the  papacy  and  England,  and,  secondly,  between  the 
National  Church  and  the  State  during  that  period,  and 
to  end  with  some  account  of  the  anti-clerical  move- 
ment of  the  last  years  of  the  reign. 

On  the  death  of  Reynolds  in  1327,  the  Canterbury 

chapter  elected  Simon  Mepeham,  and  at  Queen  Isabella's 

request,  and  after  receiving  a  gift  from  the 

Simon  ^  '  -tr^^TT-  f  t      i  i 

Mepeh.im,        couvent,  Johu  XXii.  confirmed  the  election. 

archbishop  of  ,  ^  ,        ^        . 

caiiterbuiy,  Mepcham  was  a  scholar  and  a  theologian. 
He  held  councils,  published  canons,  and 
did  what  he  could  to  rule  well.  Conscious  of  the 
necessity  of  reform,  he  set  about  a  provincial  visitation, 
and  fined  and  excommunicated  the  bishop  of  Rochester 
for  non-residence,  neglect  of  duty,  and  laxity  of  govern- 
ment. When  he  came  to  Exeter,  Bishop  Grandison, 
who  built  a  large  part  of  the  cathedral  there,  refused 
to  receive  him,  and  drew  up  his  men  under  arms  to 
oppose  his  entrance.  Grandison,  who  claimed  a  papal 
exemption   from   metropolitan   visitation,    appealed  to 


The  Papacy  and  the  Parliament.       195 

the  Pope,  and  the  king  ordered  the  archbishop  to  de- 
sist from  his  attempt.  This  seems  to  have  brought 
his  efforts  for  reformation,  Avliich  excited  much  ill-will 
among  his  suffragans,  to  a  premature  end.  He  was 
involved  in  a  quarrel  with  the  monks  of  St.  Augustine's, 
who  also  resisted  his  authority.  They  appealed  to  the 
Pope,  and  Mepeham,  who  refused  to  give  way,  died 
under  excommunication. 

John  Stratford,  bishop  of  Winchester,  of  whom  we 
liave  heard  before,  was  at  the  king's  instance  elected 
John  Stratford,  to  succced  him,  and  the  Pope  provided  him, 
arciibishopof '    q^  ^^^  virtue  of  the  postulation  of  the  chap- 

Caiiteroury,  '■ 

1333-1348.  ter,  but  "  of  his  own  motion."  Although  the 
chapter  of  Winchester  elected,  and  the  king  recom- 
mended, the  prior  of  Worcester  as  Stratford's  successor, 
Orlton,  who  happened  to  be  at  Avignon,  was,  on  the 
recommendation  of  Philip  of  France,  provided  by  the 
Pope  to  the  vacant  see.  The  king  was  indignant, 
and  called  on  Orlton  to  answer  for  thus  procuring  the 
papal  brief  against  his  will,  but  let  the  matter  drop. 
Edward's  ministers  were  mostly  churchmen,  and  for 
about  eleven  years  after  the  fall  of  Mortimer,  Stratford, 
or  his  brother,  the  bishop  of  Chichester,  generally  held 
the  office  of  chancellor,  and  exerted  themselves  to  raise 
money  for  the  French  war.  For  some  years  Edward 
made  no  progress  in  the  war,  and  was  generally  un- 
successful except  at  sea.  Stratford,  who  belonged  to 
the  old  Lancastrian  party,  disapproved  of  the  con- 
stant waste  of  money,  and  recommended  peace.  Money 
on  which  the  king  reckoned  was  not  forthcoming,  and 
in  I  340,  excited  probably  by  the  misrepresentations  of 
the  court  party,  and  especially  by  Bishops  Burghersh 


196    The  Esglish  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

and  Orlton,  lie  returned  suddenly  to  England,  turned 
Stratford's  brother,  the  cliancellor,   and    other  minis- 
ters out  of  office,  and  imprisoned  some  of 

His  contro-  .  '  ,y.  n 

veisy  Willi       his  ludges  and  other  officers.    Stratford  was 

the  king.  "^        °  ,  .       ^ 

summoned  to  appear  at  court,  but  retired  to 
Canterbury,  and  there  preached  some  sermons,  the 
character  of  which  may  be  judged  by  the  text  of  one 
of  them  :  "  He  was  not  moved  with  the  presence  of 
any  prince,  neither  could  any  bring  him  into  subjec- 
tion "  (Ecclus.  slviii.  12).  He  further  excommunicated 
all  who  offered  violence  to  clerks  or  accused  them 
falsely  to  the  king.  Edward  replied  by  putting  forth 
a  pamphlet  containing  his  complaints  against  the  arch- 
bishop. In  this  pamphlet,  which  is  called  the  famosus 
libcllus,  he  charged  Stratford  with  being  the  cause 
of  his  want  of  success  by  keeping  him  short  of 
funds  in  order  to  gain  profit  for  himself,  and  added 
several  accusations  which  were  mere  abuse.  Al- 
though Orlton  denied  it,  this  discreditable  document 
was  probably  drawn  up  by  him.  Stratford  answered 
it  point  by  point,  and  complained  that  the  king  was 
condemning  him,  one  of  the  chief  peers  of  the  realm, 
without  trial.  Edward  carried  on  this  paper  war  with 
another  weak  letter,  and  wrote  to  Benedict  XII.,  com- 
plaining of  the  archbishop,  and  hinting  that  he  wished 
the  Pope  to  suspend  him.  When  parliament  met  in 
the  spring  of  1341,  various  attempts  were  made  to 
prevent  the  archbishop  from  taking  his  seat,  and  the 
king  began  proceedings  against  him  in  the  Exchequer. 
Stratford  persisted  in  appearing  in  parliament,  and 
offered  to  plead  before  his  peers.  '  The  lords  there- 
upon declared  tliat  no  peer  should  be  brought  to  trial 


The  Papacy  asd  the  Parliament,        197 

except  before  liis  peers  in  parliament.  Edward  found 
it  advisable  to  be  reconciled  to  the  arclibisliop,  and 
the  struggle  ended.  The  archbishop's  persistence  thus 
led  to  the  establishment  of  the  most  important  privilege 
of  the  peerage,  and  the  result  of  the  controversy  illus- 
trates the 'Constitutional  position  of  bishops  as  of  equal 
dignity  with  the  temporal  lords.  Meanwhile  the  king 
Aiayciian-  appointed  Sir  Eobert  Boui'chier  chancellor, 
ceiior.  1340.  ti^Q  fjj,g|.  laynian  who  ever  held  that  office. 
After  a  little  time,  however,  the  office  was  again  held 
by  clerks. 

Stratford  desired  good  government,  and  the  clergy 
under  his  rule  on  one  occasion  joined  the  other  estates 
in  demanding  redress  of  grievances,  asking,  for  their 
part,  that  the  charters  should  be  confirmed,  as  well 
as  that  their  own  privileges  of  jurisdiction  should 
be  better  observed :  yet  he  made  no  real  effort  to 
secure  constitutional  liberty.  Although  more  of  a 
statesman  than  an  archbishop,  he  was  fully  alive  to 
the  evils  arising  from  the  oppressions  of  the  eccle- 
Hisconsti-  siastical  officials  and  the  secular  lives  of 
tutious.  ^i^g  clergy,  and  held  two  councils,  in  which 

he  regulated  the  officials'  fees,  forbade  bishops  and 
archdeacons,  when  on  a  visitation,  to  quarter  a  large 
retinue  on  the  clergy,  ordered  that  archdeacons  should 
not  make  a  gain  of  commutations  for  corporal  penance, 
and  that  clerks  who  concealed  their  tonsure,  had  long 
curled  hair,  and  imitated  the  dress  of  laymen  by  wear- 
ing knives,  long  shoes,  and  furred  cloaks,  should  be 
suspended. 

Meanwhile  "William  Zouche,  archbishop  of  York, 
was   engaged   in    the    defence    of   his    province.      In 


198    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

October  1345,  while  Edward  was  absent  in  France, 
David  of  Scotland  led  a  large  army  into  the  bishopric 
Battle  of  of  Durham,  wasting  the  country  as  he  ad- 

^sth  October^'  vanced.  Archbishop  William  and  the  lords 
1345-  Nevill  and  Percy  raised  a  force,  in  which, 

along  with  knights  and  men-at-arms,  were  many  of  the 
northern  clergy,  the  archbishop  in  person  leading  one 
of  the  divisions.  The  English  gained  a  signal  victory 
at  ISTevill's  Cross  ;  the  Scottish  king  was  taken  prisoner, 
and  the  '"'  chapter  of  Myton  "  was  amply  avenged. 

On  Stratford's  death  in  1348  the  monks  of  Christ 
Church,  thinking  to  j)lease  the  king,  and  doubtless 
John  of  uffoid  ^^^o  to  fouud  a  precedent,  elected  Edward's 
eb^tofc°m-  chaplain,  Thomas  Bradwardine,  without 
terbury,  1348.  -^aitiug  for  the  cong6  cVclire.  Bradwardine, 
the  Doctor  Profundus,  as  he  was  called,  a  famous  philo- 
sopher and  theologian,  was  the  champion  of  the  Augus- 
tinian  doctrine  of  predestination  against  the  Scotists. 
He  had  accompanied  the  king  in  his  victorious  cam- 
paigns against  France,  and  had  been  employed  by  him 
to  treat  of  peace.  Edward,  though  he  was  willing 
enough  that  he  should  be  archbishop,  would  not  allow 
the  chapter  to  act  independently,  and  so  caused 
Clement  VI.  to  provide  his  chancellor,  John  Ufford, 
who  was  an  aged  man.  The  pestilence  now  reached 
England,  and  Ufford  died  of  it  before  he  was  conse- 
ThomasBrad-  Crated.  Bradwardiuo  was  then  raised  to 
tSho'pof  Can-  the  archbishopric  by  the  common  action 
terbury,  1349.  ^f  ^|^g  king,  the  chapter,  and  the  Pope ; 
for  after  the  English  victories  Clement  was  ready 
to  oblige  Edward,  declaring  that  "  if  the  king  of 
England  asked  a  bishopric  for  an  ass  he  could   not 


The  Papacy  Ahw  the  Parliament.       199 

refuse  Liin."  His  subservience  to  Etlward  displeased 
the  cardinals,  and  at  the  consecration  feast  of  the  great 
English  doctor  at  Avignon  one  of  them  sent  into  the 
hall  a  buffoon  mounted  on  an  ass,  with  a  petition  that 
the  Pope  would  make  him  archbishop  of  Canterbury. 
A  week  after  Bradwardine  came  to  England  he  too 
died  of  the  pestilence,  which  both  now  and  in  its 
later  outbreaks  fell  as  heavily  on  the  clergy  as  on 
the  laity,  carrying  off  four  bishops  in  a  single  year. 

Simon  Islip,  Bradwardine's  successor,  endeavoured 
to  remedy  ecclesiastical  abuses.  He  founded  Canter- 
simon  Islip,  ^^^^T  Hall  at  Oxford,  to  enable  the  clergy 
1349-1366.  |.Q  receive  a  better  education,  and  published 
some  excellent  constitutions  in  convocation.  Clerical 
offenders  claimed  by  the  Church  from  the  secular 
courts,  and  committed  to  the  custody  of  the  bishops, 
were  often  kept  in  comfort ;  they  sometimes  escaped 
from  their  prisons,  and  sometimes  were  released  with- 
out good  cause.  This  was  no  longer  to  be ;  and 
imprisonment  was  to  be  made  a  real  punishment. 
The  archbishop  also  decreed  that  chaplains  who  were 
eno-aged  to  perform  commemorative  masses  should,  if 
required,  be  bound  to  do  parochial  work  at  a  fixed 
stipend  of  one  mark  beyond  their  ordinary  pay,  which  he 
fixed  at  five  marks.  A  long-standing  dispute  between 
the  sees  of  Canterbury  and  York  as  to  the  right  of  the 
northern  metropolitan  to  carry  his  cross  erect  in  the 
southern  province  was  at  last  settled  by  an  agreement 
between  Islip  and  John  Thoresby,  archbishop  of  York. 
When  the  king  and  the  parliament  checked  the  papal 
ao-crressions  Islip  abstained  from  interference  ;  for,  while 
he  could  not  quarrel  with  the  papacy,  he  would  not 


200    The  English  Church  in  the  ITiddle  A  ges. 

uphold  it  against  the  will  of  the  nation.  While,  how- 
ever, he  was  prudent  and  moderate  in  temper,  he  did 
not  shrink  from  speaking  plainly  on  behalf  of  good 
government,  and  wrote  a  strong  remonstrance  to  the 
king  about  the  oppression  of  the  people  by  the  royal 
Simon  Lang-  purvoyors.  On  Islip's  death  Simon  Lang- 
ham,  1366-1368.  Y^^^^  bishop  of  Ely,  was  raised  to  the 
primacy.  He  was  chancellor  when  he  was  translated, 
but  did  not  hold  the  office  long  afterwards.  By  the 
command  of  Pope  Urban  V.  he  instituted  an  inquiry 
into  cases  of  plurality,  and  found  that  some  clerks  held 
as  many  as  twenty  benefices  by  provisions,  with  license 
to  add  to  their  number.  After  he  had  held  the  arch- 
bishopric two  years,  Urban  made  him  a  cardinal.  The 
king  was  displeased  at  this,  and  seized  his  temporali- 
ties. Langham  resigned  the  see  and  went  to  Avignon, 
William  Whit-  ^^^^  ^^^  siicceedcd  at  Canterbury  by  his 
bSfo^p.^'Ss-  kinsman,  William  Whittlesey,  who  took 
'^^'♦"  little  part  in  the  affairs  either  of  Church  or 

State,  for  he  soon  fell  into  ill  health. 

There   was   comparatively   little    direct   taxation  of 

the    clergy   by  the    Popes    during  this   reign,  though 

first-fruits   were   still    demanded,    and    the 

The  Church  .11-1  • 

and  the  Papacy,  frequency  With  which  promotions  were 
effected  by  provision  probably  led  to  a 
growing  compliance  with  the  demand.  At  the  same 
time,  the  Church  was  wronged  in  a  more  mischievous 
manner  by  the  Popes'  usurpation  of  patronage.  Eng- 
lish bishoprics,  dignities,  and  cures  were  conferred 
without  regard  to  the  fitness  of  the  person  promoted, 
and  simply  as  a  matter  of  policy,  or  a  means  of 
providing  for  the  friends   and   advisers    of  the  Pope. 


The  Papacy  axd  the  Parliament.       201 

Tlie  first  decided  check  that  was  administered  to 
this  abuse  arose  from  the  war  with  France  ;  for 
it  was  felt  to  be  intolerable  that  the  wealth  of  the 
country  should  be  handed  over  to  the  French  car- 
dinals and  other  members  of  the  papal  court  at 
Avignon.  During  the  early  years  of  the  reign  little 
resistance  was  offered  to  the  system  of  appointment  by 
provision,  though  two  sees,  Exeter  and  Bath,  which 
liad  been  reserved,  were  filled  up  by  the  joint  action 
of  the  Crown  and  the  chapters.  The  abuse  grew 
rapidlv,  until,  in  1 34"?,  Clement  W.  declared 

Reservations         i         , "    ,      i  i   i  ,-  •       i     ^ 

nii'i  pro-  that  he  had  reserved  benefices,  not  including 

bishoprics,  as  they  fell  vacant,  to  the  annual 
value  of  2000  marks  for  two  cardinals,  who  sent  their 
agents  to  England  to  carry  out  their  claims.  These 
agents  were  ordered  to  depart,  on  pain  of  imprisonment, 
and  a  complaint  was  made  to  the  Crown  by  the  lay 
estates  in  parliament  that  the  richest  benefices  in  the 
country  were  bestowed  by  the  Pope  on  foreigners,  who 
never  came  near  it,  or  contributed  to  its  burdens,  and 
who  abstracted  the  wealth  of  England  to  the  prejudice 
of  the  king  and  his  kingdom,  and,  above  all,  of  the  souls 
of  his  subjects.  The  bishops  did  not  dare  to  join  in 
this  complaint,  and  wished  to  withdraw,  but  the  king 
made  them  stay  during  the  proceedings.  In  answer 
to  this  complaint,  a  royal  ordinance  was  published 
that  any  one  who  brought  bulls  or  reservations  into  the 
kingdom  should  be  imprisoned.  Moreover,  the  king 
wrote  a  letter  to  the  Pope  represeutincr  that 

Re-istcd  by  •    •  i     t  i 

the  kiiiff  mid     provisious  led  to  the  promotion  of  unfit  per- 

V;irii:iiiieiit.  '■ 

sons,  who  did  not  understand  the  language 
of  the  country   or  reside  on  their  benefices,  and  that 


202    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  A  ges. 

they  robbed  patrons  and  chapters  of  their  rights,  and 
removed  cases  of  patronage  from  the  royal  to  the  papal 
courts.  A  vigorous  letter  of  remonstrance  was  also 
sent  by  the  parliament  by  the  hands  of  John  of  Shore- 
ditch,  a  famous  lawyer,  who  presented  it  to  the  Pope  in 
the  presence  of  the  cardinals.  Clement  was  angry, 
and  declared  he  had  only  provided  two  foreigners. 
"  Holy  Father,"  John  replied,  "  you  have  provided  the 
Cardinal  of  Perigord  to  the  deanery  of  York,  and  the 
king  and  all  the  nobles  of  England  know  him  to  be 
a  capital  enemy  of  the  king  and  kingdom."  High 
words  passed ;  the  cardinals  left  the  court  in  some  con- 
fusion, and  John  departed  from  Avignon  in  haste,  lest 
mischief  should  befall  him. 

These  remonstrances  had  little  effect,  and  at  last,  in 
135  I,  the  statute  of  Provisors  was  enacted,  on  the 
statute  of  petition  of  the  lords  temporal  and  the  com- 
Provisois,  1351.  nions.  By  this  statute  any  collation  made 
by  the  Pope  was  to  escheat  to  the  Crown,  and  any 
person  acting  in  virtue  of  a  reservation  or  provision  was, 
after  conviction,  to  be  imprisoned  until  he  had  paid  such 
fine  as  the  king  might  inflict,  and  had  made  compen- 
sation to  the  party  aggrieved.  To  this  statute  the 
bishops,  who  were,  of  course,  hampered  by  their  posi- 
tion as  regards  the  Pope,  did  not  assent.  Its  imme- 
diate effect  was  rather  to  strengthen  the  hold  of  the 
king  upon  the  Church  than  to  increase  its  liberty. 
Edward  connived  at  its  evasion  whenever  it  suited 
him  to  do  so,  and  infringed  the  rights  of  patrons  by  a 
writ  called  "  Quare  impedit,"  while  the  concurrence  of 
the  Popes,  who  took  care  to  keep  on  good  terms  with 
the  victorious  king,  enabled   him   to  do   much  as  he 


The  Papacy  and  the  Parliament.       203 

liked.  The  Popes,  moreover,  still  continued  to  pro- 
vide to  sees  vacant  by  translation,  and  accordingly- 
multiplied  translations  to  the  hurt  of  the  Church.  It 
was  found  necessary  to  re-enact  the  penalties  of  the 
statute  fourteen  years  later,  and,  as  we  shall  see,  fresh 
efforts  were  made  against  the  abuse  towards  the  end 
of  the  reign. 

The  system  of  provisions  increased  the  number  of 
appeals  to  Rome,  and  matters  that  were  determin- 
able at  common  law  were  carried  to  the  Pope's  court, 
much  to  the  inconvenience  of  the  parties  concerned, 
and  to  the  profit  of  the  papal  officers.  In  1353  a 
check  was  given  to  the  appellate  jurisdic- 
Piwmuuire,  tiou  of  the  curia  by  the  Statute  of  Pree- 
'^''■^'  muuire,    which,    without    verbal    reference 

to  the  Pope,  made  it  punishable  with  imprisonment 
and  forfeiture  to  draw  one  of  the  king's  subjects  out 
of  the  kingdom  to  answer  in  a  foreign  court,  the 
offender  being  compelled  to  appear  by  a  writ  begin- 
ning "  Praemunire  facias."  This  statute  was  re-enacted 
in  1365,  with  distinct  mention  of  the  Roman  court ; 
the  prelates  protesting,  evidently  for  form's  sake,  that 
they  would  assent  to  nothing  that  was  injurious  to 
the  Church.  Although  the  Pope  still  granted  dispen- 
sations from  the  canon  law,  and  his  jurisdiction  might 
still  be  invoked  in  cases  for  which  no  remedy  was 
provided  at  common  law,  papal  interference  in  legal 
matters  of  importance  now  became  rare.  New  statutes 
of  Provisors  and  Pra3munire  were  promulgated  in  the 
next  reign. 

The  victories  of  Edward  and  the  Prince  of  "Wales 
rendered    the    Popes    powerless    to    resent   anti-papal 


204    T^HE.  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

legislation.     France  was  no  longer  able  to  protect  them 

at    Avignon.       During  their   residence    in    that    city 

the  papacy  had   become    French,   and  had 

Repudiation  i         •  i 

of  vassalage,  Consequently  in  a  large  measure  lost  its 
hold  upon  England.  Urban  V.  unwisely 
provoked  a  declaration  that  bore  witness  to  this  decline 
of  influence.  He  wrote  to  Edward  demanding  the 
arrears  of  the  tribute  promised  by  John,  and  threatened 
to  cite  the  king  if  he  neglected  payment.  Edward 
laid  the  demand  before  the  parliament  that  met  in 
May  1366,  and  requested  the  advice  of  the  estates. 
The  prelates,  speaking  for  themselves,  asked  for  a  day 
for  deliberation.  The  next  day  the  three  estates  sepa- 
rately and  unanimously  declared  that  John  had  no 
power  to  bring  his  realm  and  people  under  such  sub- 
jection, and  repudiated  the  vassalage  and  tribute  that 
the  Pope  demanded.  For  a  short  time  Edward 
stopped  even  the  payment  of  Peter's  pence. 

Early  in  the  reign  the  Pope  granted  the  king  a 
clerical  tenth  for  four  years,  and  later,  during  the 
Tiie  ciiuroii  in  Frcncli  War,  the  clergy  taxed  themselves 
state  °"  *°  *''^  heavily.  All  attempt  to  induce  them  to 
1327-1371-  make  their  grants  in  parliament  was  dis- 
continued, and  they  settled  the  amount  of  their  con- 
tribution in  their    provincial   convocations. 

Taxation.  .  i  i       •   i  t         •   i 

in  convocation  they  legislated  without  in- 
terference on  spiritual  matters,  including  those  which 
concerned  their   jurisdiction.       Parliament, 

Legislation. 

however,  did  not  allow  them  to  enact  any- 
thing that  should  bind  the  laity  without  its  consent. 
Accordingly,  when  Stratford  published  a  constitution 
on  the  right  to  the  tithe  of  underwood,  a  petition  was 


The  Papacy  and  the  Parliament.       205 

the  next  year  presented  by  the  comrnons,  praying  that 
the  Crown  would  not  grant  any  petition  of  the  clergy 
that  might  prejudice  the  laity  without  examination  ; 
for,  though  the  clergy  legislated  on  the  process  for 
recovery  of  tithes,  parliament  claimed  to  determine 
their  incidence.  This  distinction  found  its  counter- 
part in  jurisdiction  ;  for  the  common  law  courts  decided 
questions  of  right  to  tithes,  while  the  spiritual  courts 
enforced  payment.  In  matters  affecting  temporal  in- 
terests, parliament  legislated  for  the  Church.  This 
legislation  was  during  this  period  generally  of  a  favour- 
able character,  and  was  founded  on  petitions  from  the 
clergy.  I'arliament,  for  exam^Dle,  declared  by  statute 
that  the  temporalities  of  bishops  were  not  to  be  seized 
except  according  to  the  law  of  the  land  and  after 
judgment,  and  that  during  a  vacancy  they  were  to  be 
carefully  and  honestly  administered.  Again,  as  the 
pestilence  raised  the  price  of  clerical  as  well  as  of 
all  other  labour,  parliament  in  1362  represented  that 
chaplains  had  become  scarce  and  dear,  and  prayed  that 
they  might  be  compelled  to  work  for  lower  pay  than 
they  were  in  the  habit  of  receiving.  The  king  ordered 
the  bishops  to  find  a  remedy ;  and  they  reported  Islip's 
constitution,  which  was  thus  turned  into  a  parliamen- 
tary statute,  a  kind  of  "  Statute  of  Labourers  "  for  the 
unbeneficed  clergy.  Disputes  still  went  on  as  to  rights 
of  jurisdiction,  and  in  i  344,  after  the  grant  of  a  clerical 
tenth,  it  was  enacted,  with  the  assent  of  the 

Jurisdiction. 

lay  estates,  that  the  ecclesiastical  courts 
should  not  be  subject  to  unfair  interference  either  by 
writs  of  prohibition  or  by  inquiry  by  secular  judges  ; 
the  whole  statute  forming  a  kind  of  reading  of  "  Cir- 
cumspecte  agatis  "  in  the  clerical  interest. 


2o6    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  A  ges. 

Nevertheless  the  nation  regai^ded  the  condition  of 
the  Church  with  growing  discontent.  The  papal  in- 
Discnntent  of  terfercnce  with  the  rights  of  patrons,  besides 
the  laity.  grievously  wronging  the  bishops  and  chap- 

ters, irritated  the  people  at  large,  for  they  saw  eccle- 
siastical offices  and  revenues  held  by  foreigners  who 
never  set  foot  in  England,  and  were  in  many  cases 
their  enemies.  Of  this  perhaps  enough  has  been  said. 
Non-residence  and  plurality,  however,  were 
not  confined  to  foreigners.  All  the  great 
offices  of  State  were,  as  a  rule,  held  by  bishops  and 
other  dignified  clergy,  who  neglected  their  ecclesiastical 
for  their  civil  duties ;  and  the  inferior  clergy  followed 
their  example,  and  engaged  in  secular  employments  of 
all  kinds.  Non-residence  was  increased  by  the  pesti- 
lence. Much  land  fell  out  of  cultivation,  and  so 
ceased  to  yield  tithes,  and  parsons  left  their  parishes 
whenever  they  could  obtain  some  profitable  work  to 
do  elsewhere.  So  the  poet  of  Piers  Ploughman  records 
how — 

Parsons  and  parisshe  preestes  Plej-ned  hem  to  the  bisshope. 

That  hire  parisshes  weren  povere  Sith  the  pestilence  tynie, 

To  have  a  Ucence  and  leve  At  London  to  dwelle, 

And  syngen  ther  for  symonie;  For  silver  is  swete. 

Somme  serven  the  kyng  And  his  silver  tellen 

In  cheker  and  in  chauncelrie  Chalangan  his  dettes 

Of  wardes  and  of  wardmotes  Weyves  and  streyves. 

And  somnie  serven  as  servauntz  Lordes  and  ladies, 

And  in  stede  of  stywardes  Sitten  and  demen. 

In  the  absence  of  the  parish  priests,  or  while  they  were 
immersed  in  worldly  affairs,  the  churches  fell  into  decay, 
seoiiar  ^^^^   the    people    were   neglected.       Wyclif 

employments.  ^g|jg  ^^g  ^^^^^^  sccular  employment  was  the 
only  road   to  ecclesiastical  preferment.      "  Lords,"  he 


The  Papacy  and  the  Parliament.       207 

says,  "  wolen  not  present  a  clerk  able  of  kunning  of 
God's  law,  but  a  kitchen  clerk,  or  a  peny  clerk,  or 
wise  in  building  castles  or  worldly  doing,  though  he 
kunne  not  reade  wel  his  sauter."  Clergy  such  as 
these  held  a  vast  number  of  preferments,  for  the  Pope 
readily  granted  dispensations  for  plurality.  William 
of  "Wykeliam,  the  king's  architect,  afterwards  bishop 
of  Winchester,  held  at  one  time,  while  Keeper  of  the 
Privy  Seal,  the  archdeaconry  of  Lincoln  and  eleven 
prebends  in  various  churches. 

The  spiritual  jurisdiction  for  which  churchmen  con- 
tended so  jealously  had  altogether  failed  to  preserve 
Lack  of  discipline.      The  secularization  of  the  clergy 

Giscii.hne.  rendered  this  failure  specially  disastrous  ;  for 
a  clerk,  who  had  laid  aside  everything  clerical  except 
the  tonsure,  and  had  perhaps  concealed  that,  if  ac- 
cused of  any  crime,  however  grave,  was  immediately 
claimed  by  his  order,  and  was  only  amenable  to  a  law 
that  was  powerless  to  inflict  an  adequate  punishment 
for  the  worst  offences.  Kor  were  clerical  offenders 
rare,  for  the  number  of  those  in  orders  of  one  kind 
or  another  was  very  large.  Many  of  them  had 
little  to  do,  their  duties  merely  consisting  in  the 
performance  of  anniversary  services,  and  so,  being 
idle,  they  were  prone  to  self-indulgence  and  mischief. 
Several  of  the  archbishops  of  Canterbury  endeavoured, 
as  we  have  seen,  to  restore  discipline,  but  the  spiritual 
courts  were  corrupt,  and  their  efforts  were  of  little 
avail.       Yet,    while    the    laity   saw    discip- 

Oi  prcssion  of     , .  1        1        1  T 

the  si.irituai     huo   uttcrlv  bTokcn  down,  they  found  the 

cuurts.  ..."  'J 

spu'itual    courts  strong  enough  to  oppress 
them  with  heavy  fees,  especially  in  testamentary  cases, 


2oS    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

and  iu  various  otlier  ways,  and  the  cost  and  vexation 
entailed  by  ecclesiastical  processes  were  a  constant 
Decline  in  sourcc  of  Irritation,  At  tlie  same  time, 
characterof  ^ig^i  ^^  tlie  pretcnsIons  of  the  clergy  were, 
tiie  clergy.  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  clerical 
standard  was  lowered  by  the  pestilence.  Many  bene- 
fices were  suddenly  vacated,  and  there  were  few  to 
fill  them.  The  ranks  of  the  clergy  must  have  been 
recruited  with  men  of  inferior  education,  and  it  was 
by  them  that  the  vacant  cures  were  supplied.  Some 
efforts  were  made  to  remedy  the  ignorance  of  those 
who  should  have  been  the  teachers  of  the 

Efforts  to  TT?f>  -t      •  /-\     p       -t    -x 

raise  tiieir  peoplc.  islip  s  loundatiou  at  Oxiord  has 
already  been  noticed ;  it  was  soon  to  be 
followed  by  tlie  more  magnificent  foundations  of 
William  of  Wykeham.  Meanwhile,  in  the  north,  the 
most  backward  part  of  the  kingdom.  Archbishop 
Thoresby,  a  prelate  of  noble  character,  laboured  to 
bring  about  a  better  state  of  things.  He  constantly 
visited  different  parts  of  his  diocese,  teaching,  and 
correcting  abuses,  and  in  order  that  his  people  might 
know  the  elements  of  Christianity,  he  published  a  kind 
of  catechism  in  two  versions,  one  in  Latin  for  the 
clergy,  whose  ignorance  and  carelessness  he  severely 
reprehended,  and  the  other  in  English  verse  for  the 
laity. 

Discontent  at  the  condition  of  the  Cliurch  grew 
bitter  as  the  people  at  large  felt  the  burden  of  a 
war  that  had  ceased  to  be  glorious,  and  the  general 
decline  in  prospeiity  aggravated  the  religious  dis- 
affection. Men  saw  with  anger  that,  while  the  nation 
groaned  under  heavy  taxation,  the  greater  eccleslas- 


The  Papacy  and  the  Parliament.       209 

tics  hekl  all  the  richest  offices  in  tlie  State  as  well 
as  in  the  Church,  and  that,  large  as  their  revenues 
were,  the  country  was  misgoverned  and  the  war  mis- 
managed. An  anti-clerical  party  arose,  and  an  attack 
was  made  on  the  ecclesiastical  ministers 
clerical  minis-  and  the  Wealthier  churchmen.  When  the 
wKUtiiy  Prince  of  Wales  returned  from  Aquitaine, 

cergy,  1371.  .^  January  137 1,  fresh  supplies  were 
demanded  of  parliament.  In  reply,  the  lay  estates 
presented  a  petition  complaining  that  the  government 
had  too  long  been  in  the  hands  of  the  clergy,  who 
could  not  be  called  to  account,  and  requesting  that 
the  king  would  consider  that  laymen  were  fit  to  be 
employed  in  offices  of  state.  In  consequence  of  this 
petition,  the  chancellor,  William  of  Wykeham,  and  the 
treasurer,  the  bishop  of  Exeter,  resigned,  and  their 
places  were  taken  by  laymen.  An  attempt  of  the 
monastic  orders  to  claim  exemption  from  the  payment 
of  subsidies  led  to  some  bitter  words  concerning  the 
wealth  of  the  greater  churchmen.  A  lord  compared 
the  Church  to  an  owl  that  was  unfledged  until 
each  bird  gave  it  a  feather  to  deck  itself  with  ;  sud- 
denly, he  said,  a  hawk  appeared,  and  the  birds  de- 
manded back  their  feathers  in  order  that  they  might 
escape.  The  owl  refused ;  so  they  stripped  him,  and 
ilew  awa}'  in  safety,  leaving  hira  in  worse  plight  than 
he  was  before.  Even  so,  he  continued,  in  this  dan- 
gerous war  ought  we  to  take  back  from  the  wealthy 
clergy  the  temporalities  which  belong  to  us  and  to  the 
realm,  and  defend  the  realm  with  these  our  own  goods 
rather  than  by  increased  taxation.  The  clergy  took 
the  hint,  and  promised  the  Prince  of  Wales  in  convo- 
C.  H.  o 


210    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

cation  to  grant  ^50,000,  a  sum  to  which  even  tliose 
whose  endowments  had  hitherto  escaped  on  account 
of  their  smalhiess  were  obliged  to  contribute.  John 
of  Gaunt  returned  the  next  year,  and  probably  took 
the  lead  of  the  anti-clerical  party,  in  opposition  to  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  who  upheld  William  of  Wykehara. 
Although  this  year  an  attack  was  made  in  parliament 
on  the  lawyers,  the  abuses  of  the  Church  did  not  escape. 
Petitions  were  presented  requesting  that  the  king  would 
confiscate  the  revenues  of  foreign  beneficed  clergy  who 
did  not  live  in  the  kingdom — this  was  refused  ;  that 
bishops'  oflScials  should  demand  less  exorbitant  fees  in 
testamentary  cases — in  this  matter  the  bishops  were 
ordered  to  find  a  remedy ;  and  that  the  benefices  of 
clergy  who  lived  in  open  concubinage  should,  if  the 
bishop  neglected  to  act,  become  ijiso  facto  void,  and 
that  the  Crown  should  present — to  this  no  answer  was 
returned. 

When  John  of  Gaunt  came  back  from  his  unsuccess- 
ful campaign  in  1373  his  influence  in  parliament 
was  lessened.  Nevertheless  a  petition  was  presented 
asrainst  the  encroachments  of  the  clerical  courts.  A 
strong  remonstrance  was  also  made  on  the  subject  of 
reservations  and  provisions  and  on  the  withdrawal  of 
money  from  the  country  by  foreign  ecclesiastics.  To 
Concordat  with  ^his  the  king  replied  that  he  had  already  sent 
the  Pope.  ^^  embassy  to  the  Pope  to  represent  these 
grievances,  probably  in  consequence  of  the  petition  of 
the  year  before,  and  the  matter  was  referred  to  a  con- 
ference about  to  be  held  at  Bruges.  When  the  king's 
demand  for  a  tenth  was  laid  before  convocation  by  Arch- 
bishop Whittlesey,  the  clei'gy  declared  that  they  were  un- 


The  Papacy  and  the  Parliament.       2 1 1 

clone  by  tlie  exactions  of  tlie  Pope  and  the  Iving,  and  that 
they  coukl  better  help  the  king  "if  the  intolerable  yoke 
of  the  Pope  were  taken  from  their  necks ; "  and  Conr- 
tenay,  bishop  of  Hereford,  protested  that  he  would  not 
consent  to  the  grant  unless  some  remedy  were  devised 
for  these  evils.  The  tenth  was,  however,  granted,  and 
all  looked  for  what  the  negotiations  at  Bruges  would 
bring  forth.      To  this  conference,  which  met 

Conference  ^it^.  ,,. 

liruges,  1374-  the  following  year,  Edward  sent  the  bishop 
of  Bangor,  Dr.  John  ^Yyclif,  and  others,  as 
his  representatives  to  arrange  a  concordat  with  Gregory 
XI.  'J'he  immediate  results,  which  were  declared  in 
1375,  were  unsatisfactory,  for  they  were  merely  tem- 
porary in  their  application.  However,  in  1377,  the 
king's  jubilee  year,  Edward  announced  that  the  Pope 
had  promised  that  he  would  abstain  from  reservations ; 
that  he  would  not  provide  to  any  bishopric  until  suffi- 
cient time  had  elapsed  for  him  to  hear  the  result  of 
the  capitular  election  ;  that  he  would  respect  the  elec- 
tive rights  of  other  capitular  bodies ;  that  he  would 
diminish  the  number  of  foreign  ecclesiastics ;  that 
though  he  would  not  give  up  his  claim  to  first-fruits, 
which  were  still  held  to  be  an  innovation,  he  would 
see  that  they  did  not  press  too  heavily  on  the  clergy ; 
and  that  he  would  be  moderate  in  issuing  expectatives 
and  provisions. 

No  parliament  met  from  1373  until  the  Good  Par- 
TbeGoodPnr-  li<'inient  of  1 376.  lu  this  parliament  the 
liament,  1376.  pj^^.^y  of  reform  was  upheld  by  the  Prince 
of  Wales  and  the  bishop  of  Winchester.  The  Prince 
of  Wales  died  during  the  session  of  the  parliament, 
and  left  the  leaders  of  the  party  exposed  to  the  vcn- 


212    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

geance  of  Joliu  of  Gaunt.  A  series  of  accusations  was 
brought  against  Wykeliam,  liis temporalities  were  seized, 
and  lie  was  forbidden  to  come  near  the  court.  Ac- 
cordingly, he  did  not  come  up  to  the  convocation  of 
1377,  and  Simon  Sudbury,  the  archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, refused  to  specially  request  his  attendance.  His 
opposition  was  overruled  by  Courtenay,  now  bishop  of 
London,  who  dwelt  on  the  injustice  that  had  been 
done  Wykeham  by  the  Crown,  and  urged  the  clergy 
to  make  no  grant  until  he  joined  them.  Wykeham 
came  up  to  convocation,  and  the  king  promised  to 
redress  his  wrongs.  And  here,  at  the  point  at  which 
the  quarrel  assumes  a  new  phase,  when  the  clergy 
were  about  to  aim  a  blow  at  their  enemy,  John  of 
Gaunt,  by  attacking  his  ally,  John  Wyclif,  at  the 
opening  of  strife  between  Lollardy  and  the  Church, 
and  at  the  beginning  of  a  new  era  in  the  relations 
between  Eome  and  the  English  and  other  national 
Churches,  brought  about  by  the  papal  Schism,  this 
narrative  reaches  its  appointed  limit. 

Each  period  of  the  history  we  have  been  studying 
has  some  special  characteristics,  and  it  may  be  con- 
summary,  vcuieut  to  SLim  them  up  briefly.  The  par- 
601-1066.  1^^^  failure  of  the  Kentish  mission  and  the 

break-down  of  Gregory's  scheme  of  government  left 
the  English  Church  in  a  disorganized  condi- 
tion, and  Rome  had  to  win  a  second  victory 
to  save  it  from  Celtic  customs  and  separation  from  the 
rest  of  Christendom,  The  hero  of  that  victory  was 
Wilfrith,  its  token  the  restoration  of  the  see  of  York. 
A    new    period    opens    with    the    work    of  Theodore, 


COXCLUSION.  213 

and  extends  from  the  victory  of  the  Roman  party  at 
Whitby  to  the  end  of  the  greatness  of  the  Northum- 
brian   Church,    and    the    establishment    of 
^^^"^'^"  the  sovereignty  of  Wessex.     The  diocesan 

scheme  of  Theodore  succecdecl,  and  is  the  basis  of  our 
present  arrangement.  His  attempt  to  bring  the  whole 
Church  under  the  rule  of  a  single  metropolitan  failed, 
for  the  northern  Church  was  for  a  season  more  advanced 
than  the  rest  of  the  land  in  religion  and  culture  ;  and  its 
failure  is  marked  by  the  restoration  of  the  see  of  York 
to  metropolitan  rank.  From  the  first  the  Church  was 
national  in  character,  independent  of  the  rise  and  fall 
of  the  petty  kingdoms  into  which  the  land  was  divided, 
and  it  became  a  powerful  agent  in  the  accomplishment 
of  national  unity.  Nor  was  it  by  any  means  a  hand- 
maid of  Rome,  for  the  attempt  of  Wilfrith  to  regain 
his  position  by  invoking  the  papal  authority  met  with 
derision  and  defeat.  From  the  first,  too,  the  Church 
and  the  civil  power  worked  in  complete  harmony,  and 
when  national  unity  was  attained,  the  Church  bore  its 
own  share  in  every  department  of  the  polity  it  had  done 
so  much  to  create.  For  a  moment,  indeed,  its  work 
in  teaching  the  lesson  of  union  was  threatened  by  the 
baleful  predominance  of  Mercia  ;  for  the  foundation  of 
the  Mercian  archiepiscopate  was  an  attempt  to  make 
the  Church  minister  to  the  gi'eatness  of  a  single  king- 
dom ;  its  failure  saved  her  from  degradation,  and  pro- 
bably saved  the  nation  from  prolonged  division.  By 
Archbishop  Ceolrioth's  alliance  with  Ecgbcrht,  the 
Church  adopted  the  interests  of  the  line  of  kings 
under  whom  the  unity  of  the  nation  was  accom- 
plished. 


214    l'^^  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

While  the  invasion  of  the  Northmen  completed  the 
ruin  of  the  northern  church,  Alfred  and  his  son  imparted 
new  vigour  to  the  life  of  the  southern  pro- 
vince, and  their  woi'k  was  carried  further 
forward  by  the  great  churchmen  whose  names  are  con- 
nected with  the  monastic  revival  of  the  tenth  century. 
This  period  of  recovery  may  be  said  to  close  with  the 
death  of  Dunstan.  Although  the  relations  between 
England  and  Rome  became  more  intimate  under  the 
immediate  successors  of  Ecgberht,  and  especially  under 
Alfred,  the  work  of  restoration  was  not  due  to  direct 
Roman  influence ;  it  was  effected  mainly  through 
intercourse  with  France,  Flanders,  and  Germany. 
Throughout  the  period  the  unity  of  action  of  the 
Church  and  State  is  strongly  marked ;  separate  con- 
ciliar  action  became  rare,  and  both  spiritual  and 
secular  affairs  were  administered  by  statesmen-bishops. 
During  the  first  part  of  the  eleventh  century  this 
union  became  even  more  intimate,  greatly 
to  the  loss  of  the  Church ;  for  the  bishops 
were  absorbed  in  worldly  matters  and  party  strife. 
Freedom  from  Roman  interference  and  a  long  course 
of  independent  and  purely  national  life,  however  good 
in  themselves,  proved  dangerous,  for  the  Church  had 
not  yet  attained  any  widespread  culture. 

The  conquest  of  England  may  be  regarded  as  a 
papal  triumph  over  a  Church  and  a  nation  which  had 
Summary,  stood  apart  ffom  Roman  Christendom  and 
1066-1135.  followed  their  own  devices.  Both  before 
and  after  his  victory  the  Conqueror  availed  himself  of 
the  help  of  Rome.  Nevertheless  he  was  strong  enough 
to  hold  his  own  even  against  Gregory  YII.,  and  refused 


COXCLUSION.  215 

to  allow  tlie  Pope  any  autliority  in  his  kingdom  ex- 
cepting within  limits  of  his  own  appointment.  The 
Church  equally  with  the  nation  was  conquered,  and 
tasted  the  bitterness  of  defeat,  but  there  was  no  break 
in  the  continuity  of  its  life.  Each  Norman  or  French 
bishop  who  succeeded  to  the  see  of  an  English  prede- 
cessor looked  on  himself  as  an  English  bishop,  and  the 
Church  of  the  conquered  people  united  conquerors  and 
conquered  in  one  English  nation.  William  strengthened 
the  Church  as  a  means  of  strengthening  himself,  and 
his  policy  of  separating  the  spiritual  and  secular  courts 
was  followed  by  few  signs  of  coming  conflict  during 
the  strong  rule  of  the  Norman  kings. 

The  conflict  came  after  a  suspension  of  the  royal 
authority.  The  immunity  of  the  clergy  from  secular 
jurisdiction  confronted  Henry  II.  as  a  dan- 
gerous obstacle  to  the  success  of  his  designs 
for  the  foundation  of  a  strong  and  orderly  government. 
His  strife  with  Archbishop  Thomas  ended  in  his 
humiliation,  but  it  left  in  the  Constitutions  of  Claren- 
don the  groundwork  of  a  system  to  which  the  future 
relations  between  Church  and  State  made  continual 
and  progressive  approaches.  The  Church  lost  by 
the  dispute ;  for  the  energy  that  might  have  been 
devoted  to  producing  a  higher  clerical  standard  was 
frittered  in  a  somewhat  ignoble  quarrel.  Yet  it  also 
gained  something  besides  a  victory  of  doubtful  benefit. 
Anselm,  in  a  better  cause,  had  already  resisted  des- 
potism ;  and  Thomas  died  for  what  he  believed  to  be  the 
rights  of  the  Church  over  which  he  had  been  called  to 
rule.  Both  alike  asserted  the  sacredness  of  spiritual 
things.  Neither  Anselm  nor  Thomas  received  any 
hearty  support  from  Home ;   in  both  cases  the  action. 


2i6    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

of  the  Popes  appears  to  Lave  been  governed  by  motives 
of  expediency.  Noi'  was  it  in  the  Cliurcli's  quarrel 
alone  that  churcbmen  dared  to  encounter  the  wrath  of 
kings.  Thomas  of  Canterbury,  Hugh  of  Lincoln,  and 
Geoffrey  of  York  each  opposed  the  undue  exercise  of 
the  royal  power  in  secular  matters,  and  were  the 
earliest  assertors  of  constitutional  rights.  At  the  same 
time,  under  both  the  Norman  and  the  first  two  Plan- 
tagenet  kings,  the  Church  at  large  was  on  the  side  of 
the  Crown,  and  did  the  nation  good  service  by  main- 
taining its  authority  against  the  feudal  nobility. 

The  quarrel  between  John  and  Innocent  III.  intro- 
duces a  new  period  in  our  history,  during  which  the 
Church  was  in  opposition  to  the  Crown, 
and  was  contending  for  national  liberties 
against  the  king  and  his  suzerain,  the  Pope.  Although, 
as  the  vassal  of  Innocent,  the  king  was  upheld  by  all 
the  power  that  the  greatest  of  the  Popes  could  exert, 
the  Church  cast  in  its  lot  with  the  nation,  and  took 
a  foremost  part  in  winning  the  Great  Charter.  It 
paid  dearly  for  its  self-devotion.  Innocent  had,  how- 
ever, overreached  himself,  for  his  attempt  to  uphold 
his  vassal  against  the  liberties  of  the  country  roused  a 
bitter  feeling  against  the  papacy ;  and  this  feeling  was 
deepened  as  succeeding  Popes  took  advantage  of  the 
weakness  of  Henry  III.  to  grind  down  the  Church  and 
oppress  the  country  in  order  to  raise  funds  for  their 
war  with  the  Hohenstaufen  house.  In  the  resistance 
that  was  at  last  made  to  the  king's  misgovernment 
the  Church  was  again  foremost  in  the  cause  of  liberty, 
while  the  Pope  again  upheld  his  vassal  against  his 
people.  The  barons'  war,  however,  virtually  brought 
the  papal  suzerainty  to  an  end. 


Conclusion.  217 

A  decisive  blow  was  given  to  the  power  of  the  Popes 
in  England  by  the  folly  of  Boniface  VIII.,  who  forced 
Edward  I.  into  hostility,  and  so  made  the  Crown  at  one 
with  the  people  in  resisting  papal  pretensions.  Nor 
were  the  clergy  whole-hearted  on  the  Popes'  side,  for 
they  had  learned  by  bitter  experience  that  they  would 
at  least  gain  nothing  by  the  victory  of  Rome.  Almost 
as  soon,  then,  as  the  machinery  for  the  expression 
of  the  national  will  was  perfected,  the  hing  and  the 
nation  used  it  to  express  their  indignation  at  the 
usurpations  of  the  papacy.  The  reign  is  further 
memorable  in  ecclesiastical  history  for  the 
king's  work  in  defining  the  position  of  the 
Church  in  relation  to  the  State.  The  policy  of  making 
the  clergy  a  parliamentary  estate  so  far  failed  that  they 
succeeded  in  withdrawing  themselves  from  parliament 
and  making  their  grants  in  convocation,  yet  the 
attempt  to  secure  their  attendance  brought  their  action 
in  fiscal  matters  into  correspondence  with,  though  not 
into  dependence  upon,  the  action  of  the  other  estates 
of  the  i*ealm.  In  matters  of  jurisdiction,  Edward's 
rule  contained  in  the  writ  "  Circumspecte  agatis  "  was 
founded  on  clear  and  well-considered  principles,  and 
became  the  groundwork  of  all  futui*e  legislation  on 
the  subject  in  media3val  times.  In  all  points  the 
Church  was  given  an  ascertained  place  in  the  national 
system,  and  while  the  king  exacted  many  heavy  taxes 
from  the  clergy,  and  occasionally,  when  it  suited  his 
convenience,  made  use  of  the  papal  authority,  he  never 
gave  way  to  any  attempt  of  Pope  or  archbishop  to  act 
as  though  the  clergy  had  separate  interests  from  the 
nation  at  large.  For  our  purpose,  the  reign  of  his 
unhappy  son  is  important  mainly  as  exhibiting  how 


2i8    The  English  Church  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

entirely  the  success  of  tlie  policy  of  Edward  I.  was  the 
result  of  his  personal  character.  The  weak- 
1307  1327-  ^^gg  ^^  Edward  II.  gave  the  Popes  a  chance 
of  which  they  did  not  fail  to  avail  themselves.  While 
wholly  under  French  influence,  they  did  not  hesitate 
to  treat  the  English  Church  as  arrogantly  as  they  had 
treated  it  in  the  days  when  the  papacy  was  strong. 
Under  Edward  I.  the  chapters  virtually  lost  the  power 
of  electing  bishops ;  during  the  reign  of  his  son  the 
will  of  the  Crown  was  constantly  set  at  nought,  and 
the  introduction  of  the  system  of  reservation  and  pro- 
vision as  applied  to  bishoprics  indicates  the  utter  dis- 
regard with  which  the  rights  both  of  the  Church  and 
the  king  were  treated  at  Avignon. 

A  new  and  powerful  motive  for  resistance  was  sup- 
plied by  the  French  war  of  Edward  III.      Parliament 
and  the  Crown  were  at  one  in  refusing  to 
1343-1377-         yiei(j   to   papal    pretensions,   and  the    first 
statutes  of  Provisors  and  Praemunire,  though  they  by 
no  means  put  a  stop  to  the  evils  at  which  they  were 
aimed,    at  least   taught    the    Popes    the    necessity    of 
moderation.      We  leave  the  Church  in  the  midst  of  a 
struggle.      Exhausted  with  the  burden  of  the  French 
war,  and  disappointed  at  the  change  from  victory  to 
defeat,  the  nation  was  inclined  to  find  fault  with  exist- 
ing institutions.      The  wealth  and  power  of  the  Church 
provoked  envy  ;  its  abuses  were  regarded  with  indigna- 
tion.     The  earliest  phase  of  the  struggle,  the  attack 
made  in  Parliament  upon  the  clerical  ministers  and  the 
richer  clergy,  brings  this  volume  to  a  close.      The  work 
and  theories  of  Wyclif  and  his  followers,  and  the  effects 
of  the  papal  schism  on  the  relations  between  England 
and  EomCj  are  reserved  for  another  volume  of  this  series. 


INDEX. 


ABERConv,  see  of,  19. 

Adam  Marsh,  155,  157. 

Adoptionists,  33. 

^ddi  (Eddiiis),  21. 

M'iaiin,  wife  of  Eadwi?,  46,  47. 

jElfhcah  tliu  Bald.  bp.  of  Winchester,  45. 

Jilfric,  archbp. -elect,  67. 

^Ifric  the  GiainiiiMriaii,  53,  54. 

jEthelberht,  king  of  Kent,  2-4,  28. 

iEthelburh,  queen,  s- 

JSthelrcd   the  Unready,  king,  51,  56, 

57.  59- 
^thelstan,  42,  43,  44. 
jKihehvo  (1,  bp.  of  Winchester,  48. 
^Eihelwult,  king  of  W.  Saxons,  35,  36. 
Agatho,  pope,  ig. 
Agilberct,  bp.,  11,  12. 
Aidan,  St.,  7,  9,  14. 
Avignon,  179,  199,  201. 
Alchfritli,  king,  10-14. 
Alcuin.  25,  29,  32,  33-  „,  „ 

Alexander  II.,  pope,  71,  77.  79.  80,  87. 
Alexander  III.,  pope,  118-122. 
Alexander  IV.,  pope,  155. 
Alfred,  king,  36,  40,  43,  44.  ^M- 
Andover,  57. 
Andrews,  St.,  see  of,  loi. 
Anselin,      aichbp.,     see     Canterbury, 

arolibps.  of. 
Auseln),  legate,  99. 
Appeals  to  Konie,  18-20,  31,  81,  88,  93, 

105,  107,  131,  137.  149- 
Archdeacons,  30,  41,  98,  iii. 
Astandnn,  battle  of,  60,  61,  67. 
Asser,  bishop,  39. 
AUKUstiu,  St.,  «e<  Canterbury,  archbps. 

of. 
Aust,  conference  at,  7. 
Ayemiin,   Williau),    op.   of   Norwich, 

186,  187. 

BiEDA,  21-23,   30. 

Ikiri,  council  ol',  94. 
Hath,  so,  51,  82.  ,         ,  „ 

Beaumont,  Lewis,  bp.  of  Durham,  185. 
Benedict,  Biscop,  10,  16. 


Benedict  III.,  pope,  36. 

Benedict  X.,  antipope,  71. 

Benedict  XII.,  pope,  196. 

Bernard,  St.,  of  Clairvaux,  log,  in,  126. 

Bernicia,  kingdom  of,  5,  7,  10,  11,  35. 

Bertha,  queen,  2. 

Bigod,  Roger,  earl  of  Norfolk,  17s,  177- 

Bishops  and  archbps.,  election  of,  28, 

29,  64,  6s,  70,  8r,  90,  141,  149,  184,  tti 

Provisiou-s. 
Birinus,  bp.  of  Dorchester,  6. 
Bodmin,  see  of,  42. 
Bohun,  Humphrey,  earl  of  Hereford, 

175-  177- 
Boniface  V.,  pope,  s- 
Boniface  VIII.,  pope,  174-179,  217. 
Boniface  (Winfrith),  32. 
Bourchier,  Sir  Uobert,  chancellor,  197. 
Bristol,  85. 

Brithelm,  bp.  of  Wells,  47. 
Bruges,  conference  at,  211. 
Brunanburh,  battle  of,  44. 
BumcU,  Robert,  bp.  of  Bath  and  Wells, 

163,  164,  171. 
Burghersh,  Henry,  bp.  of  Lincoln,  185, 

186,  195. 
Bury  St.  Edmund's,  37,  60. 

Cadwallon,  British  king,  s. 
Ciedmon,  11,  21. 
Calixtus  II.,  pope,  100-102. 
Canterbury,  see  of,  2-4,  15,  16,  24,  26- 
28,  36,  42,  S2,  58.  62.  74;  79.  80,  89, 
100-102,  107,  120,  124,  146,  199. 
Archbishops  of — 

Augustin,  1-3. 

Laureiitius,  4. 

MoUitus,  4,  5. 

Justus,  4,  5. 

Honorius,  6. 

Deusdedit,  13. 

Theodore,  is-20,  23,  27,  29,  3<x 

Brihtwald,  20. 

Jaenberht,  27. 

.aithelheard,  27. 

Ceolnoth,  :S,  213. 


220 


Index. 


Cauterhury,  abps.  of  {continued) — 
jiJthelred,  42. 
Plegmmid,  39,  42. 
Wulfhelm,  43. 
Oda,  44,  45,  47. 
Duiistan,  45-53,  61,  214. 
Sigeiic,  56. 
iEifric,  74. 

^Ifheah  (St.  Alphege),  57-59,  86. 
Lyfing,  60,  61. 
.ailthelnotli,  61,  62. 
Kobertof  Jumifeges,  64,  67,  63,  70, 

71,  88. 
Stigand,  61,  67,  68,  70,  71,  77. 
Lanfranc,  78-80,  82-87,  89. 
Anselm,  86,  90-98,  117,  215. 
Rilph,  99-101. 
William  of  Corbeuil,  99,  106. 
Theobald,  107-112. 
Thomas  (Becket),  111-123,  216. 
Richard,  123,  127. 
Baldwin,  129. 
Hubert    Walter,     131-133,     136, 

137- 

Stephen  Langton,   137-145,  149, 
160. 

Hicbard  Grant,  149. 

Edmund  Rich,  149,  150. 

Boniface,  150,  160,  163. 

Robert.  Kilwardby,  163. 

John  Peclcham,  162,  164-173. 

Robert  Winchelsey,  162,  172-1S5. 

Walter  Reynolds,  185,  187,  194. 

Simon  Mepeham,  194,  195. 

John  Stratford,  186,  187,  195-198, 
204. 

Thomas  Bradwardine,  198,  199. 

Simon  Islip,  199,  205. 

Simon  Laiighaiii,  200. 

William  Whittlesey,  200. 

Simon  Sudbury,  212. 
Captivity,  the  Babylonish,  179. 
Carlisle,  parliament  of,  181,  192. 
Cashel,  council  of,  127. 
Ceadda,  see  Yoik,  bps.  and  al.ips.  of. 
Ceadwalla,  king  of  W.  Saxons,  32. 
Cedd,  bp.,  8,  u,  14, 
Celtic  Christianity,  8-14. 
Cenwulf,  king  of  Alercia,  27,  28. 
Chancellor,  office  of,  63,  112,  113  ;  a  lay, 

197. 
Chaplain?!,  stipendiary,  igg,  205. 
Charles  the  Great,  king  and  emp.,  25, 

32,  33.  34-_ 

Cliarter  of  Henry  I.,  95,  240,  342;  of 
John  to  Church,  141 ;  the  Great,  142, 
143,  154,  165  ;  tlie  Forest,  154. 

Charters,  confiurmation  of  the,  176. 

Chester-lo-Street,  35,  57. 

Chester,  see  of,  82. 

Chichester,  see  of,  82. 

Chrodegang  of  Metz,  rule  of,  66,  85. 

"Chronicle,"  the  "Anglo-Saxon,"  39. 


Churches,  liability  of  laity  to  repair, 

61. 
Circumspecte  agatis,  writ  of,  169,  184, 

204,  217. 
Clarendon,  constitutions  of,  116,  117, 

123,  215. 
Clement,  anti-pope,  84. 
Clement  III.,  pope,  102,  129. 
Clement  IV.,  pope,  157,  158. 
Clement  v.,  pope,  179,  180,  184. 
Clement  VI.,  pope,  198,  202. 
Clericis  laicos,  bull,  174. 
Clerks,  the  king's,  62,  103. 
Clevesho,  17. 
Cnut,  king,  50,  61-63. 
Colman,  bp.,  10-12. 
Columba,  St.,  6,  12. 
Concordat  with  Rome,  210,  211. 
Conquest,  Norman,  71,  72,  76,  214. 
Conrad  of  Germany,  155. 
Convocation,    98,    172-174,    189,    191, 

204. 
Cornwall,  42. 
Coronation,  50,  120,  136. 
Courtenay,  William,  bp.  of  Hereford 

and  London,  abp.,  211. 
Crediton,  see  of,  42,  see  Exeter. 
Crusades,  128,  158. 
Cuthberht,  St.,  9,  35,  57. 

Danegeld,  56,  75,  114. 

Panes,  35-38,  43,  57,  64. 

Deira,  kingdom  of,  5,  10. 

Dioceses,    organization    of,    2,    17-20, 

41,  42. 
Dorchester,  see  of,  6,  26,  42. 
Disafforestation,  177,  179. 
Drokensford,  John,  bp.  of  Bath  and 

Wells,  186. 
Dunstan,  see  Canterbury,  abps.  of. 
Dunwich,  see  of,  6,  41. 
Durham,  see  of,  57,  58. 

EADB.\t.D,  king  of  Kent,  4,  3. 

Eadgar,  king,  47-50. 

E.admer,  90,  loi. 

Eadmund,  king,  46. 

Eadmund  (St.   Edmund),  king  of  the 

E.  Angles,  37,  60. 
Eadmund  Ironside,  king,  60. 
Eadred,  king,  46. 
Eadward  the  Confessor,  king,  64,  69, 

129. 
Eadward  the  Elder,  kinsr,  42. 
Kadwai-d  the  Martyr,  king,  51,  58. 
Eadwig,  king,  46,  47. 
Eadwine,    king    of    Northumbria,    5, 

6,  11. 
Ealdfrith,  king  of  Northumbria,  19. 
Ealdhelm,  bp.  of  Sherborne,  25,  26. 
E;dhstan,  bp.  of  Sherborne,  35. 
E.anflaed,  queen,  10. 
Easter,  date  of,  3,  9-14,  16,  25. 


IXDEX. 


221 


East  An<?lia,  conversion  of,  4,  s,  61  s<e 

Dunwicli. 
East  Saxons,  conversion  of,  2,  4. 
Ecgbcrht,  kin(^  of  W.  .Saxons,  28. 
EcgCrith,  kinf<  of  Nortliiinibria,  18,  19. 
Eciwurii  I.,  158,  160-182,  217,  218. 
Edward  II.,  182-189,  217. 
Edward  III.,  189,  192,  204,  218. 
Edward,  the  "Blade  Prince,"  194,  203, 

209-211. 
Eleanor,  queen,  170. 
EUandun,  battle  of,  28. 
Eluiliani,  see  of,  18,  37,  67,  82. 
English  used  in  prayers  and  homilies, 

39-  S4-  75-       ,      , 
Evesham,  battle  of,  157. 
Eugeuius  III.,  pope,  109,  126. 
Eustace,  son  of  Stephen,  110,  112. 
Exeter,  see  of,  65. 

Faune  Island,  9. 

Felix,  bp.  of  Dunwich,  6. 

Festivals,  ecclesiastical,  decreed  by  the 

king  and  witan,  50,  58. 
Finan,  hp.  of  Lindisfarne,  10. 
First-fruits,  181,  182,  200,  211. 
Flanders,  44,  47,  214. 
Fleury,  abuey  of,  45,  48. 
Formosus,  pope,  42. 
Frankfort,  council  of,  33. 
Frederic  I.,  emperor,  118,  119. 
Frederic  II.,  emperor,  148,  155. 
Fulk,  bp.  of  Loudon,  bis  mitre  and 

helmet,  156. 
Fulk,    Fitz-Wurin,   threa'ens  a  papal 

envoy,  152,  153. 

Gerald  de  Barp.i  (Giraldus  Cambreu- 

sis),  127-129. 
Gerent,  kiujj,  25. 
Ghent,  47. 

Gilbert  Foliot  bp.  of  London.  ii8. 
Gisa,  bp.  of  Wells,  66. 
Glastonbury,  45,  46. 
Godwine,  earl,  64-67. 
Grandison,  John,  bp.  of  Exeter,  194. 
Gratian  of  BolKgiia,  iii. 
Greek,  knowled^je  of,  16,  22,  44. 
Gregory  tlie  Great,  \w\w,  2-4,  17,  79,  212. 
Gregory  III.,  pope,  24. 
Gregory  VII.,  pope,  72,  76,  77,  82-S4, 

106,  214. 
Gregory  IX.,  pope,  148-150,  159. 
Gregory  XL,  pope,  211. 
Griinbold,  39. 
Grosseteste.    Robert,   bp.   of  Lincoln, 

i5i-'57.  '59- 
Gualo,  leg.ite,  144,  145. 
Guthrcd,  42. 
Guthorin,  king,  37. 

Hatkian,  abbot,  15,  16. 
Uadrian  I.,  poi>c,  26,  31. 


Hadrian  IV  ,  pope,  126. 

Harold  I.,  king,  62. 

Hamld  II.,  king,  68,  69,  71-73. 

Harthacnut,  kinir,  64. 

liccun.in  in  Herefoidshiro,  bishopric 
of,  18. 

ITeiiry  IV.,  emperor,  84. 

Henry  I.,  95-101. 

Henry  11.,  112-129. 

Henry  III.,  145-158,  216. 

Henry,  bp.  of  l.ondon,  157. 

Henry,  bp.  of  Winchester,  106-112. 

Homy,  son  of  Henry  II.,  120. 

lleibert,  bp.  of  .Salisbury,  132. 

Hereford,  see  ci,  18. 

Hereford,  synod  of,  17. 

Heretics,  125. 

Hermann,  bp.  of  Salisbury,  82. 

Ht'.\haiii,  sec  of,  19,  20.  35. 

Higberht,  archbp.  of  Lichfield,  27. 

Hild,  abbess,  11. 

Honorius  II.,  pope,  99-101. 

Houorius  III.,  pope.  144146,  148. 

Hubert  de  Burgh,  145,  148. 

Hugh,  bp.  of  Lincoln,  123,  130,  132, 
133,  216. 

Hugii  I'uiset,  bp.  of  Durham,  129. 

Uwiccan  in  Gloucestershire  and  Wor- 
cestershire, bishopric  of,  18. 

Ida,    founder    of    line    of    Bernician 

kings,  7. 
Ini,   king  of  the  W.   Saxons,   25,   26, 

Innocent  II.,  pope,  106,  log. 
Innocent  III.,  pope,  128,  133,  137-144, 

155.  158.  159.  216. 
Innocent  IV.,  pupe,  152-156. 
Inquisition,  the,  125. 
Investiture,  episcopal,  64,  94-97. 
lona,  o  b. 
Ireland,   Scots    of,   6;    relations  -with. 

Cauterburj-,  80, 126 ;  slave-trade  wilU 

85 ;  conqui-st  of,  126,  127. 

Jasies,  the  deacon,  6,  12,  21. 

JaiTow,  21,  i!2,  34. 

Jerusalem,  70,  128,  129. 

Jews,  170,  171. 

John,  king,  130,  131,  136-144,  204. 

John  VI.,  pope,  20. 

John  XIII.,  pope,  48. 

John  XV.,  p  'pe,  57. 

John  XXII.,  pojie,  185,  1S7,  194. 

John  de  Gray,  bp.  of  Norwich,  137. 

Jolin  of  Crein.i,  legate,  99. 

John  of  t^alisbury,  m. 

John  of  Shorcditch,  202. 

John,  tlie  iild  Saxon  teacher,  39. 

Jurisdiction,  ecclesiastical,  30,  43,  8r, 
88,  98,  115-117,  124,  160,  165,  166,  16S, 
169,  1S4,  193,  197,  205,  207,  210. 


222 


Index. 


Kent,  convei-sion  of,  2-5  :  overthrow 
of  kingship  in,  27  ;  end  of  ealdor- 
manship  of,  52. 

Kingship,  31,  see  Coronation. 

Kingston,  council  at,  28. 

Lambeth,  Archbishop  Hubert's  founda- 
tion at,  133  ;  council  at,  166. 

Lancaster,  John  of  Gaunt,  duke  of, 
210. 

Ijancaster,  Thomas,  earl  of,  188. 

Langton,  Walter,  bp.  of  Lichfield,  179, 
182. 

Lateran  council  of  1099,  94. 

Law,  canon,  in,  149,  159;  civil,  in, 
125,  159  ;  common,  125,  149. 

Legates,  23,  27,  31,  70,  77,  84,  93,  98-100, 
103,  107,  124,  125,  140,  144-146,  150, 
'57,  158- 

Legislation,  ecclesiastical,  17,  28,  29, 
40,  41,  43,  49,  58,  60,  80,  82,  83,  98,  i5o, 
197,  203,  204. 

Leicester,  see  of,  18,  41. 

Leo  III.,  pope,  28,  34. 

Leo  IV.,  pope,  36. 

Leo  IX.,  pope,  65,  &6. 

Leofiic,  bp.  of  Exeter,  63,  65,  66. 

Lewes,  battle  of,  157. 

Lewis  VII.  of  France,  118-120. 

Lichfield,  see  of,  17,  18  ;  made  metro- 
politan, 26-29  ;  removals  of,  82. 

Lincoln,  parliaments  of,  178,  183. 

Lindisfarne,  s^ee  of,  7,  13,  17,  19,  35. 

Lindsey,  conversion  of,  5 ;  bishopric 
of,  18. 

Lisbon,  taking  of,  128. 

Llewelyn,  prince  of  Wales,  167. 

London,  jiroposed  as  a  metropolis,  2, 
3  ;  see  of,  4 

Lotharingian  bishops,  64-66,  68,  84. 

Lyons,  council  of,  165,  168. 

Manfred,  155. 

Manumissions,  73. 

Marriage,  the  Church  and,  45,  49,  151, 

if9  ;   clerical,  39,  45,  48,  82,  96,  98, 

151,  167,  210. 
Martin,  papal  envoy,  152. 
^Martin  IV.,  pope,  168. 
Maserfield,  battle  at,  7. 
Matilda,  emjiress,  106,  108. 
Melrose,  n. 
Mercia,  conversion  of,   8  ;   diocese  of, 

divided,   17,   18;   predominance  of, 

26,  213. 
Merton,  council  of,  150,  159. 
Missionaries,  early  English,  32,  54. 
Monasticisin,  Celtic,  8, 14 ;  Benedictine, 

38,  43,  46,  47,  53. 
MontiDiiail,  conference  at,  119. 
Mortimer,  Roger,  187. 
Mortmain,  statute  of,  165,  166,  172. 
Myton,  the  chapter  of,  188,  198. 


NEVitL's  Cross,  battle  of,  198. 
Nice,  Second  Council  of,  33. 
Nicolas  of  Tusoulum,  141. 
Nicolas  II.,  pope,  69. 
Nicolas  III.,  pope,  163,  164. 
Nicolas  IV.,  pope,  taxation  of,  171. 
Nidd,  the,  council  held  near,  20. 
Northampton,  council  of,  117. 
Noi-thurabria,  conversion  of,  5,  6  ;  two 

kingdoms,  6  ;  division  into  dioceses, 

17-20;    literary   splendour,    21,    33; 

ruin  of,  34, 35 ;  conquest  of,  42  ;  revolt 

of,  46. 
Norwich,  see  of,  82. 


Oath,  coronation,  51,  120,  129,  136;  in 

suits,  50 :  a  false,  taken  cognizance 

of  by  spiritual  courts,  169. 
Offa,  king  of  Mercia,  26,  27,  32,  33. 
Olaf,  king  of  Norway,  57,  60. 
Ordainers,  the  lords,  183. 
Ordeals,  43. 

Orknejs,  bishopric  of  the,  80,  107. 
Orlton,    Adam,   bp.   of  Hereford  and 

Winchester,  185,  187,  195,  196. 
Osbern,  bp.  of  Exeter,  86. 
Oswald,   bp.  of  Worcester,  see  York, 

abps.  of. 
Oswald,  king  of  Northumbria,  6,  7. 
Oswiu,    king   of   Northumbria,    6,    7, 

10-12,  15. 
Otho,  legate,  150,  160. 
Otto   the   Great,    king  and   emperor, 

marries  a  sister  of  jEthelstan,  44. 
Ottoboni,  legate,  158,  160. 
Oxford,  106,  108,  125,  149,  151. 


Pali,,  arcliiepiscopal,  2,  6,  24,  30,  61, 

71,  93- 
Paiidulf,  legate,  140,  144,  145. 
Parishes,  23. 
Parliament,  clerical  representation  in, 

172-174,  189,  204. 
Parliament,  the  Good,  211. 
Paschal  II.,  pope,  96,  100. 
Paulinus,  see  York,  bps.  and  abps.  of. 
Peerage  of  bishops,  197. 
Ponda,  king  of  Mercia,  5. 
Penitentials,  23,  30. 
Peter  des  Roches,  bp.  of  Winchester, 

140,  142,  143,  149. 
Peter's  pence,  36,  40,   49,  61,  84,  181, 

204. 
Philip  IF.  of  France,  159,  141. 
Philip  IV.  of  France,  177,  179. 
Pilgrimages,  25,  32,  36,  69,  70. 
Plague,  the  great,  198,  199,  203,  208. 
Plur.dity  of  benefices,  41,  63,  164,  206. 
Pontigny,  1 18,  119. 
Prsemunientes  cUmse,  173,  189,  190. 
Prajmuuire,  statute  of,  193,  203,  218. 


Index. 


223 


Provisions,  147,  150,  184,  201,  202,  210, 

211,  2l8- 
Provisors,  statute  of,  193,  202,  218. 

QuAiiE  impcdit,  writ  of,  202. 

Ralph  Ff.AMBARD,  bp.  of  Durham,  88. 
Ifaiiisbuiy,  sec  of,  42. 
J!e;iding,  provincial  council  at,  165. 
llegiiiald,  abp. -elect,  137. 
Regulars  and  seculars,  struggles  be- 
tween, 48,  51,  85. 
Remigius,  bp.  of  Uorcliester,  79. 
Reservations,  184,  201,  202,  211. 
Rhfinis,  council  of,  no. 
Richard  I.,  129-133. 
Ripon,  10,  19.  57,  187. 
Itocliester,  see  of,  4,  6,  52. 
Rockingham,  council  of,  92. 
Itoger,  bp.  of  Salisbui-y,  103,  107,  108. 
Rome,  "  Saxon  school "  at,  32,  36. 
Rustaud,  papal  cavoy,  156. 

SjEBERCT,  king  of  the  East  S.\xons,  2. 

S.iladine  tenth,  124. 

Salisbury,  see  of,  i)2. 

Scandinavian  invasions,  34,  56,  «ee 
Danes. 

Schism,  the  Celtic,  8-14,  i5,  17,  25,  212. 

Schools,  21,  25,  49,  53. 

Scotland,  relations  with  York,  3,   80, 
loi ;  p  ipal  dictum  concerning,  102 
Cliurch  frco'i  from  dependence,  102 
a  fief  of  lionic,  178;  wars  with  Eng- 
land, 107,  178,  187,  197. 

Scottish  uiiisionaries  and  clergy,  4.  6, 

8.9. 
Scutiige,  113,  146,  147. 
Sees,  removals  of,  65,  82. 
Selscy,  f^ee  of,  19;  removed,  82. 
Ser>;uis,  pope,  19,  26. 
Sherborne,  see  of,  26  ;  removed,  82. 
Sherbui-n,  northern  ]>arliament  "f,  188. 
Sidnacestcr,  see  of,  18. 
Simon  de  Montfort,  carl,  156-158. 
Simony,  63,  64,  67,  89,  144. 
South  Saxiins,  cunvcrsion  of,  19. 
Spearhafoc,  bp.-designite,  67. 
Standard,  battle  of  tiie,  107. 
Siapleton,  Walter,  bp.  of  Exeter,  187. 
St.  David".s  see  of,  128. 
Stephen,  king,  106-112. 
Stephen,  papal  collector,  148. 
Swend,  king  of  nenniarl<,  57,  60. 
Swithiin,  b)!.  of  Winctiester,  35. 
Synods  and  ecclesiastical  coiuicils.  n, 
17,  29,  31,  55.  fo,  91,  97,  98  ;  ut  Whit- 
by, i:c.,  also  Convocation. 

Taxation,  ecclesiastical,  74,  75,  113, 
124,  146,  147.  i52->54i  '7'.  ^TA-^n, 
200,  205,  209. 

Temjilars,  suppression  of  the,  125,  183. 


Tenths,  147. 

Testii,  William  de,  181,  182. 

Tliurkill,  58,  59. 

Tithes,  23,  24,  43,  49,  61,  98,  169,  204, 
205. 

Tostig,  earl,  69. 

Transubstinti  .tion,  54,  86,  87. 

Translations,  episcopal,  rule  concern- 
ing, 184. 

Tribute,  papal,  140,  182,  204. 

Uffoiid,  John,  archbi.shop-elect,  198. 
Ulf,  bp.  of  Dorchester,  64,  66,  67,  70. 
Urban,  II.,  pope,  91-94. 
Urban  IV.,  pope,  157,  158. 
Urban  V.,  pope,  200,  204. 

Vacaiihts,  III. 
Vercelli,  council  of,  66. 
Vezelay,  abp.  Thomas  at,  119. 
Vicarages,  section  of,  151. 
Victor,  anti-popo,  118. 

Walchfi.ik,  bp.  of  Winchester,  85,  86. 

Wa!e-i.  church  of,  not  in  communion 
with  Canterbviry,  3.  8,  10 ;  joins  com- 
munion, 25  ;  in  S.  W.ales  bishops  pro- 
fess obedience,  42  ;  independence  of 
church,  80;  dependence,  102;  char- 
acter, 127,  177,  16S. 
Alfred's  power  in,  42. 
Conquest  of,  by  Eiward  I.,  167. 

Wallingtord,  treaty  of,  112. 

Walter  Map,  133, 

W^ilter  of  Cantelupe,  bp.  of  Worcester, 
156-158. 

Waltham,  68,  71. 

Wedinore,  peace  of,  37. 

Wells,  see  of,  42,  82. 

Wessex,  conversion,  6,  8 ;  diocesan 
division  of,  18,  26,  42  ;  gains  supre- 
macy, 28. 

Westminster  abbey,  69,  71,  85;  coun- 
cils at,  24,  98,  116,  124;  convocation 
of  Canterbury  meets  at,  98,  191. 

Whitby,  synod  of,  11-13,  16,  29,  213. 

Wi,'h>"rd,  abp.  designate,  15. 

Wight,  Isle  of.  conversion,  19. 

William  tlie  Conqueror,  71,  72,  77-87, 
92,  105.  215. 

Willi  mi  liufiLs,  87-95. 

Willi.im,  bp.  ol  London,  67,  68. 

William  Fitz-Osb<rt,  133. 

William  Longchamp,  bp.  of  Ely,  129. 

William  of  Saint-Calais,  bp.  of  Durham, 
87,  88,  92. 

Wdliam  Wither,  148. 

Winchester,  see  of,  26,  42  ;  councils  at, 
83,  loS. 

Willi,  bp.  of  W.  Saxons,  8. 

Witchciatt,  39. 

Worcester,  toe  of,  18  ;  held  with  York, 
69. 


224 


Index. 


Wulfstan,  bp.  of  Worcester,  63,  70,  71, 
84. 

Wyclif,  Joliii.  193,  211,  112. 

Wykehara,  William  of,  \)\<.  of  Winches- 
ter, 207-212. 

York,  see  of,  founded,  2,  5 ;  overthrown, 
6 ;  restored,  13  ;  metropolitan  dignity 
restored,  22.  24,  212  ;  period  of  great- 
ness, 25  ;  of  obscurity,  34,  35  ;  special 
position  of,  35,  46,  74,  79  ;  claim  to 
obedience  of  Scottish  bisliops,  80, 
loi,  I02  ;  disputes  with  Canterbury, 
79,  100,  loi,  igg. 
York,  bjis.  and  abpe.  of — 

Paulinas,  5,  6,  12,  13,  24. 

Wilfiith,  10-14,  17-20,  31,  213. 

Ceadda,  14,  16,  17,  29. 


York,  bps.  and  abps.  of  {continutA)— 
Ecgberht,  22,  24,  25,  30. 
.Sthelberht  (Albert),  25. 
Kanbald,  34. 
Wulfstan,  43,  46. 
Oswald,  44,  48. 
Ealdred,  63,  66,  69,  78. 
Thomas,  78-80,  85. 
Thurstan,  100,  loi,  107. 
Willi.am,  109,  no. 
Heni-j'  UlurdrtC,  109,  no. 
Roger,  120,  124. 

Geoffrey,  122,  130,  131,  138,  216. 
Walter  Gray,  144. 
Sewal  de  Bovil,  155. 
William  Melton,  187. 
William  Zouche,  197. 
John  Thoi-esby,  199,  208. 


THE   END. 


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